NAIFA Advocacy pays off

The House of Representatives today passed the SECURE Act (H.R.1994) with a vote of 417 to 3 to help Americans better prepare for retirement. NAIFA’s advocacy efforts have vigorously promoted the bill, which would ease restrictions on companies that band together to offer their employees retirement plans, known as multiple-employer plans, or MEPs; require plan statements to show participants how much monthly income their savings would be expected to provide them during retirement; and make it easier for plans to offer annuity products and for savers to transfer annuities if they move from one plan to another.

Additional information on these and other provisions in the act is available in the latest issue of NAIFA’s GovTalk newsletter.

Agents and advisors who attended last week’s NAIFA Congressional Conference emphasized the importance of passing the SECURE Act in their meetings on Capitol Hill. NAIFA is also a member and active participant in a coalition of organizations that placed an ad in yesterday’s issue of Politico asking House members to approve the legislation.

“The SECURE Act, which passed the House today with overwhelming bipartisan support, would give millions of Americans better opportunities to prepare for retirement,” said NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux. “It would provide employers more incentives and make it easier for them to offer retirement plans for employees. Just last week, nearly 600 NAIFA members met with more than 90 percent of congressional offices during NAIFA’s Congressional Conference and urged lawmakers to vote for the bill. It’s always satisfying to see results from our grassroots advocacy be realized so quickly. We look forward to this momentum carrying over to the Senate, where the bill is known as the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act, and hope the legislation will soon be signed into law.”