1/28/13 – Retirement Reform a Likely Target For Obama's Second Term (Benefits Pro)

If you think that the retirement industry suddenly fell off the radar with the end of the first round of fiscal cliff fixes, think again – substantial reform, courtesy of the second-term Obama administration, is likely on the way.

That’s the belief of Marcia Wagner, a prominent ERISA attorney serving as keynote at this year’s sixth annual Profit-Driven Strategies in the DCIO Market, organized by Financial Research Associates – held this week in Wagner’s base of operations, Boston.

Wagner contends that the allure of taxes deferred by America’s retirement plans continues to be too strong to politicians – some $70 billion a year, and as much as $361 million over a four-year period – meaning that tangible reform efforts are certainly a possibility.

And with today’s news of the retirement of Sen. Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate pensions and education committee, Wagner says she suspects a harder push on his part to gain support for his own proposal creating a nationalized retirement system, an Americanized rendition of plans found in Western European nations.

Read the full article at BenefitsPro.