Obama Administration Makes Plans to Gobble Up 401(k)s

The Obama Administration is making plans to take over the nation’s 401(k)s in order to bail out their union backers and their bankrupted pension plans.
Connie Hair at Human Events reported:

In February, the White House released its “Annual Report on the Middle Class” containing new regulations favored by Big Labor including a bailout of critically underfunded union pension plans through “retirement security” options.

The radical solution most favored by Big Labor is the seizure of private 401(k) plans for government disbursement — which lets them off the hook for their collapsing retirement scheme. And, of course, the Obama administration is eager to accommodate their buddies.

Vice President Joe Biden floated the idea, called “Guaranteed Retirement Accounts” (GRAs), in the February “Middle Class” report.

In conjunction with the report’s release, the Obama administration jointly issued through the Departments of Labor and Treasury a “Request for Information” regarding the “annuitization” of 401(k) plans through “Lifetime Income Options” in the form of a notice to the public of proposed issuance of rules and regulations. (pdf)

Republican Leader John Boehner released this statement today in response to this recent move by democrats:

Keep Bureaucrats’ Hands off Americans’ 401(k)s

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and members of the House GOP Savings Solutions Group sent a letter to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warning the Obama Administration that the government should keep its hands off of the retirement savings of Americans, and should reject proposals that would dismantle or nationalize the private 401(k) system in favor of a government-run retirement security regime. Several Administration officials, including the Vice President, have voiced support for efforts to create so-called “Guaranteed Retirement Accounts” or impose new government mandates which would undermine 401(k) retirement savings plans and jeopardize employers’ willingness to continue offering them to their workers. Boehner issued the following statement:

“The American people are asking ‘where are the jobs?’ They aren’t asking for job-killing policies that jeopardize their retirement savings. Unfortunately, Washington Democrats are pursuing policies that make it more difficult to offer 401(k) savings plans to their workers, and some are even advocating replacing them with government-run accounts and ending 401(k)s altogether. That’s unacceptable and not the solution Americans need at a time when they are still rebuilding their retirement, college, and personal savings.

“Republicans are committed to offering better solutions, and the proposal we have offered – the Savings Recovery Act – will help restore Americans’ savings and ensure that Washington does not stand in the way of families’ ability to save more. It’s time for Democrats to stop advocating policies that will destroy Americans’ savings and work with Republicans on better solutions to help rebuild them.”

Several GOP House members signed on to a letter delivered to labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner expressing their concerns today.

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Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

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