On Friday, March 4, a group of NAPA members armed with their own professional experience and personal passion, brought their concerns about a piece of potentially harmful legislation to key Utah legislators and successfully stopped it in its tracks.
Jeff Scott of First West Retirement Solutions led the charge, along with his First West colleague, Jared Benson, James Moyes of Red Stone Advisors, LLC, Corby Dall of 401(k) Advisors Intermountain, and Kirk Welch of MRP. The group of advisors attended a hearing of the Utah House Revenue and Taxation Committee on Senate Bill 133, testifying in opposition to its passage as it was currently written.
SB 133 would have established an optional, state-run automatic deduction IRA for small, private-sector employers under the broad purview of the state treasurer. While the intention of the bill was to expand coverage in Utah for workers without adequate retirement savings, it would have effectively made the state a competitor in an already robust and highly competitive marketplace for qualified retirement plans.
Scott testified on behalf of the group (and really, the industry), arguing that instead of competing with the private sector, the legislature should consider adding new incentives within the state’s tax structures to encourage businesses to offer plans. He argued that the current coverage gap is a symptom of financial illiteracy, not the cause, and that many small businesses are simply unaware of federal tax credits for businesses starting new retirement plans. Enhancing these programs and educating the public about them would do more than simply adding another retirement plan option.
In advance of the hearing, the group sent emails to committee members outlining the shortcomings of the bill and showing how other states have been considering more effective solutions to the retirement coverage problem. After receiving all these messages and hearing Scott’s testimony, the bill failed to advance.
Said Scott, “I’m proud of my colleagues. We represented the local interests well. As a NAPA member, I’ve sat through our conferences and heard Brian Graff talk about the importance of getting involved, but I think there are a lot of us who always assume someone else is going to look out for us. If we hadn’t gotten involved, this would not have turned out so well. These things don’t get done unless our community steps up and speaks for itself!”
Ray Harmon, Esq. is government affairs counsel for NAPA.
