NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux, CAE, is among the industry leaders who signed a letter to Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs strongly supporting legislation to modernize federal securities regulation of 403(b) retirement plan investments by providing parity with 401(k) plans and other retirement savings arrangements.

Current federal law denies 403(b) plans – whose participants include teachers, healthcare workers, nonprofit employees, and charitable organization staff – access to low-cost collective investment trusts (CITs). The SECURE 2.0 law made changes to the tax code to address the disparity, but additional changes are needed to federal securities laws to allow 403(b) participants to fully benefit.

“Enactment of this legislation would expand access to cost-efficient investment options, strengthen opportunities to incorporate lifetime income solutions into 403(b) plans, and help improve retirement security outcomes for millions of Americans serving in the education, healthcare, charitable, and nonprofit sectors,” the CEO letter says.

“NAIFA believes teachers and health care workers participating in 403(b) plans should have the same access to low-cost institutional investments and lifetime income options as other retirement plan participants,” added NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux, CAE. “Congress already recognized the unfairness of the situation in SECURE 2.0, which NAIFA strongly supported, and should now take the next step to level the retirement-planning playing field.”