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Andrew Remo
By Andrew Remo | 1/29/2014
The chatter about retirement benefits leading up to President Obama’s State of the Union address was that he will direct the Treasury Department to create a new federal retirement savings vehicle aimed at workers who lack access to a retirement savings plan at work. In fact, the president did...
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By Andrew Remo | 1/25/2014
If it weren’t for the debt limit deadline in October 2013, the federal government could still be shut down. But the imminent possibility of debt default during the fall of 2013 (an issue which first spooked the markets during the summer of 2011), along with the political damage that the government...
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By Andrew Remo | 1/21/2014
According to a new report by the Congressional Research Service, the “cost” of the retirement savings tax deferral for traditional IRAs and retirement plan contributions for the self-employed is estimated at $14.9 billion in 2013 and is projected to increase to $17.6 billion in 2014 — an increase...
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By Andrew Remo | 12/19/2013
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, was widely reported Dec. 18 as President Obama’s choice to be the next U.S. ambassador to China. Baucus announced earlier this year that he would not run for reelection in 2014. “Sen. Baucus has been a friend to this organization for...
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By Andrew Remo | 12/19/2013
The Senate Finance Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy, chaired by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Pat Toomey (R-PA), held a wide-ranging hearing Dec. 18 that examined the various sources of income for retirees and whether reforms are needed to the financing and benefit...
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By Andrew Remo | 12/13/2013
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), budget conference committee co-chairs, announced an agreement Dec. 10 to fund the federal government through the fall of 2015. The deal sets federal government spending at $1.012 trillion through the rest of fiscal year 2014. For fiscal year 2015...
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By Andrew Remo | 11/14/2013
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the official budget scorekeeper for Congress, released a paper Nov. 13 outlining various options for reducing the federal budget deficit over the next 10 years, including cuts in the tax incentives for retirement savings. Among the options the CBO proposes:...
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By Andrew Remo | 11/8/2013
An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that their retirement savings should be “off limits” to Congress and not part of any discussion about raising new revenue for the federal government, according to a new national survey released Nov. 7 by The Coalition to Protect Retirement. The survey...
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By Andrew Remo | 10/24/2013
The Maryland Joint Committee on Pensions, a panel made up of Maryland state legislators, held a briefing Oct. 23 examining the challenges facing the private employer-based retirement system. Brian Graff, CEO/Executive Director of ASPPA and NAPA, participated in the briefing and submitted testimony...
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By Andrew Remo | 10/14/2013
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report in August that projected changes in retirement savings should a federal automatic payroll deduction IRA proposal become law. The report’s findings were made public in late September. The report, which was prepared at the request of Rep...
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By Andrew Remo | 9/25/2013
Congress is set to play a high stakes game of political chicken this week over federal government spending as the end of the 2013 fiscal year rapidly approaches. If a resolution of this issue is not achieved by next Tuesday, Oct. 1, a shutdown of the federal government will occur. Last week, the...
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By Andrew Remo | 9/9/2013
Congress is poised to return to Washington D.C. this week to debate the weighty issues of war and peace amid a jam-packed legislative calendar and a limited timeframe on which to act on pressing fiscal issues. There are only nine legislative days scheduled for the month of September, the end of...
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By Andrew Remo | 9/6/2013
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a think tank focused on the economic condition of low- and middle-income workers, recently released a study purporting to show that the switch from DB plans to DC plans has increased retirement wealth inequality. While the study acknowledged that assets in IRAs...
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By Andrew Remo | 8/22/2013
The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank with close ties to the Obama administration, issued a deeply critical report Aug. 20 on the voluntary employer-based private retirement system. The report concludes that the current situation is so bad for individuals that the entire system...
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By Andrew Remo | 8/5/2013
Congress wrapped up its business for the summer last week. The House of Representatives and the Senate are now in recess until Sept. 9. Last week, the House passed bipartisan legislation to address interest rates on federal student loans. There was no “stretch IRA” provision in the final student...
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By Andrew Remo | 7/25/2013
On Tuesday, July 24, the Aspen Institute’s Initiative on Financial Security organized a briefing for congressional staff to discuss how reforming the tax code could affect the retirement security of Americans. The briefing featured remarks from two key members of the House Ways & Means...
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By Andrew Remo | 7/23/2013
Congress is in the middle of a four-week, in-session work period before Members head out of town for the traditional August recess. Last week, the House of Representatives passed legislation to delay both the employer and the individual mandate under the Affordable Care Act for one year, as well as...
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By Andrew Remo | 7/17/2013
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) held a hearing July 16 to examine issues related to multiple employer defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans. Committee Chairman Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), a fellow committee member,...
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By Andrew Remo | 7/11/2013
Congress seems no closer to resolving the politically sensitive issue of student loan interest rates, as a proposal from Senate Democrats which included the so-called “stretch IRA” revenue raising provision was rejected July 10 by a 51-49 vote. (Sixty votes were needed to pass.) The “stretch IRA...
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By Andrew Remo | 7/10/2013
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the Ranking Member on the Senate Finance Committee, introduced legislation July 9 that would simplify and enhance the current private employer-based retirement plan system. Title II of the bill, the “Secure Annuities for Employee (SAFE) Retirement Act of 2013,” addresses...
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