To comply with changing international privacy requirements, ICI informs its visitors that we use cookies on our web site. ICI only uses cookies to allow subscribers and members to more easily use our site and to record site utilization. No personal or private information is gathered or stored. More details, including how to disable cookies, can be found on our privacy and cookie policy page. If you disable cookies, you will see this message on future visits to our site. Please click the enable button to consent to accepting cookies.
  • ICI Global
  • Independent Director's Council
Sign In  |  Forgot Password?
Advanced | Tips
  • Home
  • Policy Priorities
    • Fund Regulation
    • Retirement Security
    • Trading & Markets
    • Fund Governance
    • Taxes
    • ICI Comment Letters
  • Research & Statistics
    • Industry Research
    • Investor Research
    • Retirement Research
    • Statistics
  • Government Affairs
    • Financial Services
    • Retirement Security
    • Tax
    • Testimony
  • Industry Operations
    • Fund Accounting, Financial Reporting, and Valuation
    • Fund Distribution, Fund Clearance, and Settlement
    • Operations, Transfer Agent Servicing, and Recordkeeping
    • Portfolio Security Operations
    • Resource Centers
    • Technology, Business Continuity, and Information Security
  • News & Media
    • Media Contacts
    • News Releases
    • Blog: ICI Viewpoints
    • Speeches & Commentaries
    • Opinions & Responses
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
  • Publications & Resources
    • Resource Centers
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Fact Books
    • Research Publications
    • White Papers
    • Annual Reports
  • Events
    • ICI Events
    • ICI Global Events
    • IDC Events
    • Past Event Highlights
    • Sponsorship Opportunities
    • Event Contacts
  • About ICI
    • Mission & History
    • Board & Leadership
    • Membership
    • Annual Reports
    • ICI Education Foundation
    • Business Continuity
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • ICI 401(k) News
  • ICI 401(k) Publications
  • Background on 401(k) Topics
  • ICI Policy Statements on 401(k) Topics
  • Other Resources

Home 401(k) Resource Center ICI Policy Statements on 401(k) Topics

Print this page

ICI President Outlines Improvements for 401(k)s

In Congressional Testimony, Stevens Calls for Strengthening the Retirement System

Washington, DC, February 24, 2009 — ICI President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens, in testimony before the House Education and Labor Committee, offered recommendations to build upon the success of the 401(k) system and strengthen retirement security for American workers.

In his testimony, Stevens echoed calls from Congress to "preserve and strengthen" the 401(k) system. While ICI research shows that 401(k) plan participants continue to contribute to their plans and want to preserve the system's fundamental strengths, Stevens said that the 401(k) system "can and must be improved."

Stevens then detailed seven proposals ICI believes Congress should consider to achieve this goal:

  • Improve disclosure about all investment options in 401(k)s to ensure that participants have key information-about fees, risks, historical returns, and more.
  • Relax rules for required minimum distributions to reflect changing life expectancy and to help retirees manage assets in retirement.
  • Remove obstacles to allow employers to diversify participants out of heavy concentrations of company stock as they approach retirement.
  • Consider requiring all 401(k) plans to incorporate automatic enrollment and automatic escalation, after taking some more time to learn from the tremendous growth in these features.
  • Help more employers to offer savings plans by making plan sponsorship less complex, and explore ways to help workers of modest means to put away something for their retirement. Stevens proposed two ideas: A simplified employer plan, which could reduce barriers for employers who want to offer retirement benefits, and a new series of Treasury savings bonds, dubbed "R" Bonds, specially designed to help workers save on a voluntary basis even if they don't have a plan at work.
  • Redouble efforts by the financial industry and government to provide financial and investor education to all Americans at every level, elementary school through adulthood. "This is a job for educators, government at all levels, financial institutions, and all firms that serve the retirement market," Stevens said.
  • Put Social Security—which has been and will continue to be the primary source of retirement income for millions of low and moderate wage earners—on sound financial footing.

top
  • About ICI
  • About IDC
  • About ICI Global
  • Privacy and Cookie Policy
  • Apply for User Account
  • Business Continuity
  • Contact ICI

Copyright © 2021 by the Investment Company Institute