Last month President Trump signed a spending bill that included the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act.
The SECURE Act will provide a huge boost for America’s retirement savers. Among other benefits, the bill will enable more small businesses to offer retirement plans, allow older workers to contribute more to their retirement accounts, and make it easier for retirement plans to include options for lifetime income.
My colleagues at the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) and our member companies are very familiar with this legislation. We advocated for these provisions for years.
Most Americans are unaware of the SECURE Act details. So, now that the bill has become law, life insurers will need to educate American businesses and consumers about what it can do for their financial and retirement security.
ACLI believes greater financial literacy leads to better financial decisions.
Unfortunately, nearly two-thirds of Americans cannot pass a basic financial literacy test. And only 19 states require high school students to study financial literacy before receiving a diploma.
That’s why ACLI offers a wide range of consumer publications and resources online to promote financial literacy for Americans at every stage of life.
And it’s why ACLI supports Junior Achievement (JA) and its financial literacy program. ACLI employees volunteer at JA Finance Parks in the Washington D.C. area, helping teach local middle school students how to approach their financial responsibilities in the future and navigate challenges in the global economy.
ACLI also organizes visits to Capitol Hill where JA students discuss financial and retirement security issues with members of Congress. And through our long-standing sponsorship of the Capital Challenge road race, we donated more than $21,000 in 2019 to JA to support its financial literacy efforts.
Through our partnership with JA and other organizations dedicated to financial literacy, we will teach the next generation of American workers the importance of planning early for retirement. And every step we take to improve the financial literacy of our young people will bear fruit because financial literacy is an important building block for financial security over a lifetime.
Susan K. Neely was President and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), the nation’s leading trade association determined to help families live better lives by achieving financial security and certainty. As president and CEO, Neely drove public policy and advocacy on behalf of ACLI’s member companies that represent 93 percent of industry assets and serve 90 million families. She is CEO Emeritus through December, 2024.
ACLI also organizes visits to Capitol Hill where JA students discuss financial and retirement security issues with members of Congress. And through our long-standing sponsorship of the Capital Challenge road race, we donated more than $21,000 in 2019 to JA to support its financial literacy efforts.
Through our partnership with JA and other organizations dedicated to financial literacy, we will teach the next generation of American workers the importance of planning early for retirement. And every step we take to improve the financial literacy of our young people will bear fruit because financial literacy is an important building block for financial security over a lifetime.
