Congressman Andrews Offers Legislative Perspective on Improving the Future of Retirement

Yesterday, Congressman Andrews joined a group of investment experts to offer a legislative perspective on how to fix our nation's retirement system. As a featured speaker at the 2009 Retirement Briefing hosted by Barclay's Global Investors in New York, Rep. Andrews indicated that in order to restore our nation's retirement system we must first fix the current economic crisis. Congressman Andrews pointed out that while building confidence in today's economy is increasingly difficult, minor changes in the nation's 401(k) system could create a more secure retirement system and prevent massive losses, which have exceeded $2 trillion over the last year.

Congressman Andrews highlighted the importance that investors have access to independent qualified advice free of conflicts of interest. As Chairman of the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee, Congressman Andrews is working with Congressional leaders to see that legislation is written to overcome the previous Administration's regulations that would have made it easier for financial services firms to offer potentially conflicted advice to workers. Additionally, Rep. Andrews stressed that fees associated with these investments must be unbundled to allow for complete transparency so that workers can make informed decisions regarding their financial security. Finally, Congressman Andrews highlighted his support of President Obama's agenda to expand access to the 401(k) programs Rep. Andrews is eager to work with the Education & Labor Committee, as well as the Administration to review the different proposals to expand retirement benefits to the 70 million Americans who are not currently covered by a 401(k) plan.

At a time when $2 trillion in retirement assets have been lost due to the economic downturn, Congressman Andrews continues to dedicate his efforts to ensure that workers' hard-earned retirement savings is as secure as possible, despite our country's current economic downturn.

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