Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Account
  • LOGIN
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Coronavirus
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Opinion
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Russia-Ukraine War
    • SECURE Act 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
    • Impact Investing
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Performance Data
    • P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Future of Investments Research Series
    • Charts & Infographics
    • Polls
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2022 Innovation Investing Conference
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • 2022 Alternatives Investing Conference
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. MONEY MANAGEMENT
May 10, 2012 01:00 AM

Putnam's Reynolds aims to put retirement security on election agenda

Mark Schoeff Jr.
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Putnam's Robert L. Reynolds lays out three points he says should be addressed in every campaign.

    In a presidential election with many competing issues already on the table for the Democrats and Republicans, Putnam Investments chief executive Robert Reynolds wants to turn the conversation to something more substantial: whether most voters can retire comfortably.

    Mr. Reynolds laid out a three-point plan — making Social Security solvent, providing employer savings programs to everyone who pays Social Security taxes and raising workplace savings rates to 10% — that he said should be addressed in every federal campaign.

    “Implementing these reforms in the real world will take leadership,” he said at a Financial Services Roundtable event in Washington on Wednesday.

    “And those of us in retirement services need to both provide it and demand it from candidates seeking public office,” Mr. Reynolds said. “All of us in the retirement policy arena … should press our political leaders in this election year for a full, open debate on retirement policy.”

    After the election, a lame-duck Congress must decide whether to extend hundreds of millions of dollars in tax cuts approved during the Bush administration and set to expire Dec. 31. Personal rates, as well as capital gains and dividends rates, are set to increase if lawmakers don't act.

    The post-election pileup is an example of Congress' refusing to make tough decisions on taxes, spending and entitlements, according to Mr. Reynolds.

    “This ‘fiscal cliff,' as some people call it, is the result of multiple Congresses and administrations kicking the can down the road,” he said.

    “Now the bill is coming due,” Mr. Reynolds said. “That's why we do need to have a great national debate this year about deficits, debt and ways to reboot economic growth, so that the next president and the next Congress can earn a mandate for serious action from the American people.”

    Congress is likely to turn its attention to broader tax reform next year.

    Mr. Reynolds is trying to lay the groundwork for that debate, too.

    “Making Social Security solvent and dispelling the uncertainty about its future should be the top priority for bipartisan reform next year,” he said.

    Mr. Reynolds warned Congress not to touch retirement savings tax deferrals in its efforts to lower tax rates, broaden the tax base and reduce the deficit.

    “National solvency and personal solvency go together,” he said. “We should never pit one against the other, but that is exactly what some in Washington want to do.”

    Retirement savings tax deferrals, including IRAs and 401(k) accounts, are known as “tax expenditures” in federal budget parlance. They are among the tax breaks that are defined as costing the government revenue each year.

    In fact, the favorable tax treatment for retirement savings puts them among the top three tax expenditures.

    “They are deferrals, not permanent tax breaks,” Mr. Reynolds said. “Every penny will eventually be withdrawn and taxed as ordinary income, even though most of the assets being drawn down will likely come from dividends, interest and capital gains.”

    In order to boost workplace savings, Mr. Reynolds backs legislation that would establish automatic IRA payroll deductions.

    He tried to address two aspects that Republicans have used to argue against such a measure: Workers would not be forced to participate and employers would be compensated for start-up costs.

    Most members of Congress understand the urgency of the retirement savings issue, according to Steve Bartlett, president and chief executive of the Financial Services Roundtable. The problem is that they too often use the issue to attack their opponents, making cooperation more and more difficult, he said.

    “Our job, politically, is to convince them that their constituents expect them to do the right thing,” said Mr. Bartlett, a former House member from Texas.

    Addressing the retirement issue forthrightly will help both parties, Mr. Reynolds said in an interview.

    “If you do fix retirement security in this country, you suddenly have a real sense of confidence and hope,” he said. “People will look forward to the future and not fear it.”

    Since 2010, Mr. Reynolds has donated $105,000 to two political action committees associated with the presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign: Restore our Future and American Crossroads, according to Federal Election Commission records.

    Mark Schoeff Jr. is a reporter at InvestmentNews, a sister publication of Pensions & Investments.

    Related Articles
    Legislative changes not likely from a 'paralyzed' Washington
    Video: James Delaplane provides a 2012 legislative update
    Putnam's Reynolds is worried about future of retirement savings incentives
    Putnam puts down roots in Beijing with new office
    Federal workers worry about pensions under Ryan
    Automatic IRAs won't happen regardless of election, PSCA lobbyist says
    Putnam picks 4 global asset allocation co-heads
    Putnam's Reynolds: Auto enrollment should be required for 401(k) plans
    Recommended for You
    money-management-businessman-tablet_i.jpg
    Managers' bearish outlook continues to grow – BofA survey
    A lighted Allianz logo on the side of an office building at dusk
    AllianzGI unloads U.S. business to Voya following SEC charges
    Value Partners names senior director, institutional business
    Alternatives: Investing Across the Spectrum
    Sponsored Content: Alternatives: Investing Across the Spectrum

    Reader Poll

    May 9, 2022
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Are Factors a Thing of the Past?
    Q2 2022 Credit Outlook: Carry On
    Leverage does not equal risk
    Is there a mid-cap gap in your DC plan?
    Out of the Shadows: The Revolution in Shadow Accounting
    The pivotal role of fixed income markets in the ESG revolution
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    May 9, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Coronavirus
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Opinion
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Russia-Ukraine War
      • SECURE Act 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
      • Impact Investing
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Performance Data
      • P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
      • Future of Investments Research Series
      • Charts & Infographics
      • Polls
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2022 Innovation Investing Conference
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
      • 2022 Alternatives Investing Conference