President Bush’s Employer Retirement Savings Account proposal is drawing mixed reactions from organizations representing employers and retirement plan providers.
The American Society of Pension Actuaries, the Small Business Council of America and the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America criticized the proposals, predicting they would sharply reduce retirement savings by middle-class Americans.
The proposals would prompt small business to scuttle employer-sponsored retirement plans and would "dismantle the retirement system we have worked so hard to create,” Brian H. Graff, ASPA executive director, said at a press conference today.
Meanwhile, the Securities Industry Association applauded the consolidation of the various retirement plan vehicles. The ERISA Industry Committee and the American Benefits Council are still studying the proposal; James Klein, American Benefits Council president, called it "a mixed bag.”
