A recent hearing sponsored by the Treasury and
Labor Departments marked the beginning of the Obama Administration’s effort to nationalize the nation’s pension system and to eliminate private retirement accounts including IRA’s and 401k plans, NSC is warning.
The hearing, held in the Labor Department’s main
auditorium, was monitored by NSC staff and featured a line up of left-wing activists including one representative of the AFL-CIO who advocated for more government regulation over private retirement accounts and even the establishment of government-sponsored annuities that would take the place of 401k plans.
"This hearing was set up to explore why
Americans are
not saving as much for their retirement as they could," explains National Seniors Council National Director Robert Crone, "However, it is clear that this is the first step towards a government takeover. It feels just like the beginning of the debate over health care and we all know how that ended up."
A representative of the liberal Pension Rights
Center,
Rebecca Davis, testified that the government needs to get involved because 401k plans and IRAs are unfair to poor people. She demanded the Obama administration set up a "government-sponsored program administered by the PBGC (the governments’ Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation)." She proclaimed that even "private annuities are problematic."
Such "reforms" would effectively end
private retirement
accounts in America, Crone warns. "These people want the government to require that ultimately all Americans buy these government annuities instead of saving or investing on their own. The Government could then take these trillions of dollars and redistribute it through this new national retirement system."
Deputy Treasury Secretary J. Mark Iwry, who
presided over the
hearing, is a long-time critic of 401k plans because he believes they benefit the rich. He also appears to be one of the Administration’s point man on this issue.
"This whole issue is moving forward very
quickly," warns Crone.
"Already there is a bill requiring all businesses to automatically enroll their employees in IRA plans in which part of every employee’s paycheck would be automatically deducted and deposited into this account. If this passes, the government will be just one step away from being able to confiscate all these retirement accounts."
NSC has taken the lead in warning the nation
about this
new government onslaught and is plotting ways to stop it.
"This effort ultimately is designed to grab
the retirement
nest eggs of America’s senior citizens. This new government annuity scheme, even if it is at first optional, will turn into a giant effort to redistribute the wealth of America’s older citizens," explains Crone. "This scheme mirrors what I expect the President will try to do with Social Security. He wants to turn that program i nto a welfare program, too."
NSC will likely unveil a new grassroots campaign
effort later
this year or early in January to coincide with the seating of the new Congress. (Originally posted 10/13/10) Now that Barack Obama has been reelected he's going to push harder than ever to seize private retirement accounts. To sign NSC's emergency petition against Obama's new National Retirement System scheme |
Stop Obama’s Push for a New National Retirement System
Now that he’s been reelected, Barack Obama will fight hard to impose
his vision of a new “National Retirement System” in which ordinary Americans
are forced to turn over their private retirement savings to the federal
government in return for a government-controlled annuity.
It’s like ObamaCare for your retirement savings! The liberal Pension Rights Center says the government needs to crack down on private retirement accounts because 401k plans and IRAs are unfair to poor people. This group wants the Obama administration set up a "government-sponsored program administered by the PBGC (the governments’ Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation)." And Obama’s labor Department is following their advice. National Seniors Council representatives have even attended one meeting where Administration officials raged on how “unfair” 401(k) plans are to “the disadvantaged” and how their dream is to set up a giant government-run pension system! The American people need to fight back. Please “sign” the National Seniors Council petition below and tell Barack Obama to keep his hands off your private retirement savings!
Petition to President Barack Obama
Mr. President, like millions of Americans, I’ve worked hard to save for retirement. What I’ve deposited in my private IRA or 401(k) plans is mine and I oppose any effort by your Administration to seize or otherwise restrict my access to this money. I oppose ANY effort to impose a new “National Retirement System” on the American people and I will never, ever turn over my savings to you in return for a bogus “government-backed annuity.” To sign the petition, go to National Seniors Council, Arlington VA, petition. |
|||
Our retirement assets total $18.5
trillion. Obama wants to take it from
you and spend it.
The worst thing that could happen
to the government is for the Federal Reserve to allow interest rates to float
to “market levels”. My guess is that
would be about 6%. Mortgage rates would
go back to 6% and that’s not good for mortgage holders.
Seniors who have saved and all
Americans who would save would benefit greatly and retirement accounts would no
longer be held hostage by the gamy, unstable stock market.
That’s the problem !
If savers could improve their
earnings across the board, other investments would be forced to behave and be
priced according to their value. If
savers could collect real market rates on their savings, there would be no need
for Social Security. If this occurred
and citizens were allowed to privatize their Social Security, they would.
When George W. Bush proposed
privatizing Social Security, all retirement accounts were stuck in the stock
market and we rejected it, because there was no stable investment we could
trust.
The financial investment game
that has been constructed does not benefit the average American. We need to begin to untangle this mess and
recapture control over our own future.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party
Leader
Feeling concerned about some of the information in this post, I took it upon myself to contact Rebecca Davis from the Pension Rights Center, and got the following reply:
ReplyDeleteThanks for your email. I am so curious about this organization national Seniors Council. We have never heard of them before and of course we work with interest groups on both sides of the pension equation. Thanks for reassuring your mother that we want to protect her retirement and not take it away.
I've gotten a lot of questions in the past week and a half regarding this article that is circulating the internet. Let me begin by saying that the hearing I testified at was in September of 2010. I am somewhat perplexed as to why all of a sudden what I said two years ago is making news. You may read what I said in full here:
http://www.pensionrights.org/policy/presentations/100914-statement-on-lifetime-income-options-in-401k-plans.pdf
I think my words speak for themselves and you will see that I was misquoted. I did not say that 401(k) plans are unfair for poor people. I did not say that your money should be taken from you and distributed to others.
My mention that private annuities can be problematic was to the fact that they are expensive, especially for people who are buying relatively small annuities, and for women. Because women live longer, private insurance companies charge women more money for annuities than men. I think that in order for people to ensure that their hard earned savings last for their entire lifetime, they should be offered more low-cost options such as annuities that are gender neutral, and that are not charging large fees that make them cost prohibitive.
Finally, I think you should do whatever you want with your money and all I want is for you to have all the information and options available for you to make the best decision for yourself and your family.
Rebecca Davis
Legal Director
Pension Rights Center
1350 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 206
Washington, DC 20036
(202)296-3776
we work hard and close to retire and they want to take our 401k away that is not fair !
ReplyDelete