Ninety-five percent of LPL Financial’s advisors support passage of the SECURE 2.0 retirement savings act and believe the retirement legislation will help alleviate challenges that individuals face when trying to save for retirement, the company announced today.
With less than three weeks left before this Congress adjourns for the last time, LPL is using these findings to press lawmakers yet again to pass the legislation.
The company has also enlisted the assistance of Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Bob Portman (R-Ohio), who authored the original SECURE Act of 2020 and parts of the new bill, in their lobbying efforts.
“This survey provides further confirmation that SECURE 2.0 must pass this Congress in order to increase retirement savings among working families as well as help close the coverage gap,” Cardin said today.
“I started on this effort to improve retirement security years ago with my colleague and friend Senator Rob Portman. I’m proud to see our most recent bill largely included in SECURE 2.0,” Cardin added.
Portman, who will depart Congress after 11 years, said he is “proud to see that in our last Cardin-Portman project we will have a strong impact on the ability of people to save for a safe and secure retirement.”
These were among the other findings in LPL's survey:
• 89% of advisors report that the bill’s small business startup tax credit would incentivize small businesses to create retirement plans for employees.
• 94% support the additional small business startup credit, based on contributions made by the employer, which is in the House version of the bill.
• 91% “applaud” the provision in both bills "allowing plans to self-correct inadvertent errors without a submission to the IRS."
“Fear of the IRS is the number one reason we see clients avoid initiating a plan,” advisors said in responses to the survey, according to LPL. The penalties for inadvertent violations keep many small employers from offering plans, advisors said.
"We believe that everyone deserves access to financial advice that furthers their ability to save for major life events, such as buying a home, paying for college tuition and ultimately retirement," LPL President and CEO Dan Arnold said in a statement. "In that spirit, this legislation may unlock significant retirement options for small businesses and their employees. It’s also very timely, given the impact that the pandemic has had on many Americans’ retirement savings."
LPL is part of a coalition of 60 financial services companies and associations that asked congressional leaders in a Nov. 16 letter to “take quick action” to pass SECURE 2.0 before the current Congress convenes for a final time in December.
“We respectfully ask that you ... make this proposal a top priority during the upcoming lame-duck session,” the coalition said in a letter to congressional leadership. The group was organized by the American Council of Life Insurers wit the assistance of the Insured Retirement Institute.