The election season might be over, but the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries has borrowed a chapter from grass-roots organizers with a new campaign to deliver a simple message to members of Congress wrestling with budget deficits and tax reform: Save My 401k.
The all-hands-on-deck approach is necessary, said Brian Graff, ASPPA executive director and CEO, because “last time Congress took up tax reform in 1986, contributions to employee 401(k) plans were cut by 70%.”
This time around, Mr. Graff said, “American workers simply can't afford to lose (this battle).”
The Arlington-Va.-based group has a six-figure budget for the campaign, which urges ASPPA members, retirement plan professionals, employers and anyone else who will listen, to keep in touch with Capitol Hill via e-mail or tweet, and to connect with ASPPA on Facebook and YouTube. Social media “has worked well in political campaigns, so we thought that we'd try it, too,” said Judy Miller, ASPPA chief of actuarial issues and director of retirement policy.
Since its launch Nov. 26, the campaign already has generated more than 25,000 e-mails to members of Congress, many from people outside ASPPA's 11,000 membership. “It's gotten off to a pretty fast start,” Ms. Miller said.
Learn more about the campaign at http://savemy401k.com.
