ARA Advocacy Materials

2026

ARA Supports the Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act
The Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act (S. 424) will ensure workers with a 403(b) plan are empowered to maximize their retirement savings by allowing them to leverage the benefits of collective investment trusts, currently prohibited by securities laws.
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ARA Supports the Department of Labor’s proposed Investment Selection Rule
The Department of Labor has proposed a new rule to help the people who manage workplace retirement plans, like 401(k) plans, make smart decisions for workers saving for retirement.
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Middle Class Workers Deserve Retirement Policies That Work for Them
Ensure any federal matching contribution applies equally to workers across retirement plan types.
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2024

ARA Supports the Auto-IRA Act of 2024
The American Retirement Association supports the Auto-IRA Act of 2024 which would create a federal government-administered auto-IRA program for working Americans. This bill would help close the retirement plan coverage gap by expanding access to workplace-based retirement plans for working Americans across the country that do not currently have access to employer-sponsored retirement benefits.
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ARA Supports Expanding Access to Collective Investment Trusts to 403(b) Plans
The American Retirement Association supports legislation that would fix a quirk in securities law that unnecessarily prohibits 403(b) plans from offering Collective Investment Trusts (CITs). Allowing 403(b) plans to offer CITs would give millions of non-profit and charity workers access to a lower fee investment vehicle which will help them maximized their retirement savings over their careers.
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Millions of Lower and Middle Income American Workers Depend on Defined Contribution Plans to Save for Retirement
The majority of 401(k) participants earn less than $100,000 a year. Employer-sponsored defined contribution plans, including 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans, play an essential role
in helping lower- and middle-income American workers secure a comfortable retirement. These plans have been tremendously successful at helping millions of lower- and middle-income workers save for retirement.
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Myth: Tax Expenditures for Defined Contribution Plans Exceed $400 Billion
Understanding the true cost of tax expenditures for defined contribution retirement plans is crucial for informed legislative decision-making. The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) publishes annual reports on tax expenditures, estimating revenue losses attributable to special provisions in the tax code. However, these estimates often misrepresent the actual cost of tax-deferred retirement accounts due to the methodology used. Here, we aim to clarify these misconceptions and propose a more accurate evaluation method.
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The Retirement Savings For Americans Act Threatens Workers’ Social Security and 401(k) Plans
Introduced in October 2023, the Retirement Savings for Americans Act (H.R. 6065/S. 3102) would create a new federal government managed fund, called the American Worker Retirement Fund (“Fund”), for qualifying workers who do not have access to a workplace-based retirement plan. While there is a need to address the retirement plan coverage gap in the private-sector workforce, this legislation is impractical, unfair, and may harm Social Security.
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2023

Number of 403(b) Participants by State
Millions of working Americans are employed by non-profits across the country.  A significant number of these workers are saving through their employer’s 403(b) plan. The ARA is committed to ensuring that these workers have access to the best investment products available.
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ARA Supports Starter-K Plans
The American Retirement Association supports the Starter 401(k) proposal which was included in the SECURE 2.0 Act. This proposal created a new safe harbor for a deferral-only 401(k) plan for employers that do not currently offer any other qualified retirement plan. Starter 401(k) plans reduce the cost and complexity associated with offering retirement plans and make it easier for employers, particularly small businesses, to offer these benefits to their workers.
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