Washington, D.C. (April 11, 2011) — The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) joins the Insured Retirement Institute in encouraging all Americans to take time during National Retirement Planning Week, April 11-15 (www.retireonyourterms.org), to ensure their retirement plans are on track. Regularly evaluating retirement plans and goals is a vital part of building a secure retirement nest egg. Unfortunately, many Americans struggle to understand how much they need to save and how those savings will last through retirement.
“America is suffering from a financial education deficit disorder. Many workers, especially those approaching retirement, need to develop a better understanding of how to build savings, how to assess their retirement income needs and where to get expert advice,” said ACLI President & CEO Dirk Kempthorne.
“One initiative we strongly support is the bipartisan Lifetime Income Disclosure Act (S. 267 and H.R. 677) introduced in the Senate by Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.), and in the House by Reps. Rush Holt (D-N.J.), Tom Petri (R-Wisc), Ron Kind (D-Wisc) and Dave Reichert (R-Wash). Under the legislation, workers would receive an annual statement from their employer-sponsored retirement plans illustrating how their accumulated savings translate into annual or monthly streams of guaranteed income. This would help workers visualize how well their retirement savings will address their month-to-month living needs,” Mr. Kempthorne said.
Research conducted on behalf of ACLI found that 91 percent of people surveyed would find this information valuable. And more importantly, 60 percent said they would start saving more money immediately if the illustration showed they would not have enough monthly income to meet their goals.
The Lifetime Income Disclosure Act would provide information that Americans preparing for their retirements want and need. As Americans examine their retirement plans during National Retirement Planning Week, we encourage Congress to pass this important legislation.
Mr. Kempthorne discussed the legislation and other retirement issues during a recent speech to the National Institute on Retirement Security.
