Washington D.C. — Following an announcement from the White House that the U.S. Department of Labor will move forward on fiduciary requirements for retirement advisors to ensure that they act in the client’s best interest, CAP’s Jennifer Erickson, Director of Competitiveness and Economic Growth and Joe Valenti, Director of Asset Building, released the following statement:
Tackling an outdated set of retirement policies is an important step to ensure that Americans have retirement security. Since we know that half of all Americans are at risk of experiencing lower standards of living in retirement due to insufficient savings, a strong fiduciary rule is of utmost importance. Americans who have worked hard and played by the rules shouldn’t be at risk of living out their golden years in poverty. Ensuring that financial advisors act only in their consumer’s best interest, as well as a clear and understandable articulation of fees, will help people make better decisions for their retirement, allowing them to retire years earlier than they otherwise would be able to.
A recent report from the Center for American Progress revealed that due to a lack of transparency and clarity on retirement funds, a typical median wage worker who saves regularly for retirement stands to lose $100,000 to excessive fees by the time he or she retires.
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Allison Preiss at [email protected] or 202.478.6331.
###