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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Pecanne Jennings
Chief Marketing Officer
703.516.9300
pjennings@aspa.org

ASPPA APPLAUDS CHANGES TO BUSH ADMINISTRATION SAVINGS INITIATIVES

Revised Proposals Will Now Promote Small Business Retirement Plan Coverage

February 2, 2004 - (Arlington, Va.)- The American Society of Pension Actuaries (ASPPA) announces it will now support the Bush Administration’s revised savings proposals since they will result in greater retirement plan coverage and consequently greater retirement savings for working Americans.

Representatives of ASPPA’s Government Affairs Committee have met with senior Administration officials on numerous occasions to express serious concerns about the possible impact of last-year’s savings proposals on small business retirement plan coverage. Significantly, many of the revisions to the new proposal were made in response to these concerns raised by ASPPA. Both the Lifetime Savings Account (LSA) and Retirement Savings Account (RSA) contribution limits have been reduced from $7,500 to $5,000, and important nondiscrimination testing flexibility has been retained, which has been a critical factor in promoting new small business retirement plans.

According to ASPPA Executive Director, Brian H. Graff, Esq., “We are very pleased that the Administration has responded to our concerns. If enacted, the new proposals will expand workers’ savings options while still maintaining the necessary incentives for small business owners to provide employer-sponsored retirement plans to workers.”

According to Bruce Ashton, Esq., ASPPA President, “[I]n meeting with Treasury officials, it was clear they sincerely wanted to achieve the appropriate balance between individual savings incentives and incentives to establish workplace retirement plans. With the revised proposals, we believe they have succeeded in this effort.”

As compared to last year’s proposals, ASPPA believes the revised savings proposals will on balance promote greater small business retirement plan coverage, enhancing the retirement security of a vital sector of our nation’s workforce. The revised proposals will significantly reduce the costs to small businesses of establishing and maintaining retirement plans for their employees. According to Graff, “It’s critical that small business workers still have the ability to participate in employer-sponsored retirement plans since studies prove that moderate income workers are much more likely to save in an employer-sponsored plan than in individual savings vehicles.”

ASPPA is a national organization of retirement plan professionals dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of the private pension system in the United States. ASPPA offers education and professional credentials for 401(k) administrators (QKA), actuaries (MSPA, FSPA), pension consultants (CPC), pension administrators (QPA), and other benefits professionals (APM). ASPPA’s over 5,000 members provide consulting and administrative support to over half of the private retirement plans in the country.