Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • LOGIN
  • Subscribe
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Consultants
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Face to Face
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Regulation
    • SECURE 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • Washington
    • 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
    • WPS Innovation Awards
    • Influential Women in Institutional Investing 2023
    • 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
    • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
    • ESG Investing | Industry Brief
    • Innovation in ESG Investing
    • 2023 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Divestment Database
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • The Plan Sponsor's Guide to Retirement Income
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • DC Plan Design: Improving Participant Outcomes
    • 2023 Defined Contribution East Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Research Center
    • The P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
  • Print
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. ELECTIONS
September 07, 2020 12:00 AM

How would these candidates tackle retirement issues?

Groups seek answers on plans for the future of retirement policies

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Election 2020
    Photos: Getty Images
    Joe Biden and Donald Trump are being asked how they will work toward better retirement outcomes.

    Editor's note: Now that the Republican and the Democratic national conventions have concluded, attention is focused on the candidates and their policies. The ERISA Industry Committee, Washington, reached out to seven business and retirement groups as well as its own members and Pensions & Investments editors to identify questions for both President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. Retirement income, expanding retirement coverage, taxes and health care are just some of the pressing issues identified. ERIC aims to send the questions to the candidates' campaigns in the coming days, said Aliya Robinson, senior vice president of retirement and compensation policy. Responses, if provided, will be published in an upcoming issue of P&I. Selected questions from the groups, below, have been edited for length and clarity.

    Closing the coverage gap

    • Although the employer-provided retirement system provides benefits to millions of workers, there are still many that are not covered by these plans — thus creating a retirement plan coverage gap. What will you do as president to strengthen and expand private, employer-sponsored retirement plan coverage and increase savings? How will you preserve and augment the current tax treatment of retirement savings to encourage Americans to start saving earlier and to save more?
    • Workers today face many challenges and obstacles in saving for retirement, including an increased risk of outliving retirement assets. For a married couple at age 65, there is a 73% chance of at least one spouse living to age 90, and a 33% chance of at least one spouse living to 92. What will you do as president to facilitate and encourage greater access to and use of lifetime income products for both individuals and workplace retirement plans to insure against the risk of workers outliving their savings?

    Expanding access

    • The defined contribution system can do a very good job of providing retirement security. However, the current system is not fully inclusive. For those that do have access to DC plans, there are still concerning disparities in participation rates, savings levels and asset accumulation levels along racial, ethnic and other demographic lines. Please indicate your policies and proposals that would enhance the inclusivity of the retirement savings system. Specifically, how will your administration move us toward universal access to the retirement savings system in the U.S., and how will you facilitate greater participation and saving levels among the groups of Americans that are disproportionately being left behind today?
    • ERISA is based on a voluntary system. However, mandates have been suggested to increase retirement plan coverage. Do you support a national mandate that all private employers offer a 401(k) plan to allow for employee-only contributions? If not, do you support it for a certain size employer? Would you support a mandate that also requires employers to offer specific plan designs?

    Fixing the multiemployer mess

    • What is your solution to the multiemployer pension funding crisis?

    Back on track?

    • A recent Bankrate survey shows 31 million people have needed or will need to access their retirement funds as a result of COVID-19 hardships. How will you help get these retirement savers back on track while also recognizing the need for funds during times of emergency? Do you support the creation of emergency saving funds in addition to long-term retirement savings?

    Cutting red tape

    • One reason that small businesses hesitate to offer retirement plans is the potentially complicated and costly testing requirements. In order to make 401(k) and profit-sharing plans easier for small businesses to sponsor and administer, do you support the simplification of the 401(k) tests and rules that no longer serve their original purpose, such as the top-heavy rules?

    Taxes and carve-outs

    • Do you support a tax on the sale of all stocks, bonds and derivatives? If so, would you support a carve-out of all retirement assets contained in tax-exempt trusts from the tax?

    Employers role in health care

    • More Americans are covered by employer-provided health care than any other source of health insurance. Employers can leverage purchasing power, market efficiencies and innovative plan design to provide high-quality, low-cost care. What role do you think employers should play in providing health coverage to Americans moving forward? How would you as president support and improve employer-sponsored health coverage?

    Curbing surprises, drug costs

    • Out-of-network health-care charges typically expose individuals to higher cost-sharing when they use health-care services and may lead to balance billing — in which providers bill patients directly, and often unexpectedly, at a higher rate. According to Kaiser Family Foundation, 1 in 5 insured adults had an unexpected surprise medical bill from an out-of-network provider in the past two years. How will you protect Americans from surprise medical billing?
    • More than 460 prescription drug prices increased by an average of 5.2% this year, according to 3 Axis Advisors, a health-care research firm. Prescription drug costs will continue to rise. What is your plan to lower the cost of prescription drugs for those with employer-sponsored coverage?

    A seat at the benefits table

    • Employees of most organizations can enroll in a Section 125 cafeteria plan and select the benefits they need. However, IRS rules specify that owners of small businesses that are formed as a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC or Sub-S corporation cannot participate in a cafeteria plan sponsored by their business. This discourages owners of small businesses from offering these benefits through a cafeteria plan. Do you believe that all small business owners should be allowed to participate in all of their organization's benefit programs, including all health and welfare and cafeteria plan benefits, subject to all of the existing non-discrimination rules?

    In addition to The ERISA Industry Committee, the following organizations contributed questions: American Benefits Council, American Retirement Association, Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association, Insured Retirement Institute, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Small Business Council of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

    Related Articles
    Need a primer on retirement, policy issues?
    Election in sight, but focus stays on secure retirement
    Recommended for You
    James Diossa
    Both sides of debate over ESG get winners in state-level races
    pi_20221031p31-pritzker_i.jpg
    Several governor races could have impact on state retirement plans
    Ma Guerrero
    Statewide races spotlight pension investments and debate about ESG
    Open Window of Opportunity in Real Estate
    Sponsored Content: Open Window of Opportunity in Real Estate
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    A Guide to Home Equity Investments: The Untapped Real Estate Asset Class
    Modernize your K-12 retirement plan with vendor consolidation
    Q4 2023 Credit Outlook: Price Is What You Pay, Value Is What You Get
    There's More Than One Way to Be a Climate Investor
    Exploring the Commercial Application of Artificial Intelligence
    Private Credit Insights: Every Problem Is an Opportunity in Disguise
    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
    October 23, 2023 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 Custom Content
    • 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 © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Consultants
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Face to Face
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Regulation
      • SECURE 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • Washington
      • 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
      • WPS Innovation Awards
      • Influential Women in Institutional Investing 2023
      • 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
      • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
      • ESG Investing | Industry Brief
      • Innovation in ESG Investing
      • 2023 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
      • Divestment Database
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • The Plan Sponsor's Guide to Retirement Income
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • DC Plan Design: Improving Participant Outcomes
      • 2023 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Research Center
      • The P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
    • Print