House Members Outline Legislative Principles to ''Help Strengthen Retirement Security''

Representatives Phil Roe (R-TN), Richard Neal (D-MA), Peter Roskam (R-IL), and Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) outlined a "series of legislative principles that will help strengthen the retirement security of working families and ensure retirement advisors protect their clients' best interests." These representatives serve on the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

The bipartisan group articulated the following principles:

• Promoting families and individuals saving for a financially-secure retirement is an essential public policy good;
• Retirement advisors must serve in their clients' best interests and must be required to do so;
• Retirement advisors must deliver clear, simple, and relevant disclosure of material conflicts, including compensation received and all investment fees to individuals saving for retirement;
• Public policies must protect access to investment advice and education for low- and middle-income workers and retirees;
• Public policies should never deny individuals the financial information they need to make informed decisions;
• Investor choice and consumer access to all investment services - such as proprietary products, commission-based sales, and guaranteed lifetime income - should be preserved in a way that does not pick winners and losers; and
• Small business owners should have access to the financial advice and products they need to establish and maintain retirement plans and help workers save for retirement.

In a joint statement, the group expressed concern that the DOL's current fiduciary proposal "may have unintended negative consequences that could harm individuals and families saving for retirement."