ACLI Issues Statement on Retirement Savings Plans

WASHINGTON, March 30 — The American Council of Life Insurers issued the following statement by President and CEO Dirk Kempthorne on the Senate vote to disapprove a regulation issued by the U.S. Department of Labor on municipal-run retirement savings plans for private-sector workers:

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“ACLI supports the resolution passed by the Senate, as well as the House, to disapprove a U.S. Labor Department (DOL) regulation allowing cities to mandate that small employers auto-enroll their workers into city-based retirement plans.

“The regulation grants cities an exemption from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), stripping basic consumer protections that private retirement plans have offered for more than 40 years. The regulation puts private marketplace plans at a disadvantage.

“This vote wisely overturns the regulation. Congress's action will help ensure that private-sector workers in city retirement plans receive the protections they deserve.”

The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association with approximately 290 member companies operating in the United States and abroad. ACLI advocates in state, federal, and international forums for public policy that supports the industry marketplace and the 75 million American families that rely on life insurers' products for financial and retirement security. ACLI members offer life insurance, annuities, retirement plans, long-term care and disability income insurance, and reinsurance, representing 94 percent of industry assets, 93 percent of life insurance premiums, and 97 percent of annuity considerations in the United States. Learn more at www.acli.com.