EIG’s John Lettieri Refutes ARA Claims of Proposed Bill’s Challenge to Private Retirement Plan System

When American Retirement Association CEO Brian Graff told attendees at the recent NAPA 401(k) Summit in San Diego that a new bill expected in Congress soon could mark the beginning of a “year’s long battle” over the future of America’s retirement system, the charged rhetoric didn’t sit too well with people behind the proposal.

The ARA leader likened the “Retirement Savings for Americans Act” to a giant multiple employer plan run by the government, and warned that if it were to pass, it would amount to unfair competition and would upend the entire private retirement plan system.

The legislation, expected to be reintroduced in Congress within weeks by a bipartisan working group of legislators, is largely based on a proposal made in a 2021 white paper from the Economic Innovation Group that seeks to address the retirement plan coverage gap faced by low- and moderate-income Americans.

EIG has made it known it doesn’t agree with ARA’s stance that the proposal and the legislation based on it would threaten the future of the private retirement plan system, and we wanted to hear why they think the concern stems from a “fundamental disconnect.”

To that end, our podcast guest is Economic Innovation Group CEO John Lettieri, who explains why he thinks the new plan would indeed NOT compete with the existing private retirement plan system and why the lower-income retirement plan coverage gap needs to be addressed now.