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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday,
April 20, 2006
MBRT
joins retirement security
project Brookings Institute
and AARP in support of
IRA Bill
Washington,
D.C. - Senators
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and
Gordon H. Smith (R-OR)
today introduced legislation
aimed at ensuring more
Americans save for their
retirement years.
The
Senators, both members
of the Senate Finance
Committee, are the author
of the "Automatic
IRA Act of 2007"
bill that requires companies
with more than 10 employees
to offer workers the ability
to have wages remitted
to an IRA account.
The bill does not require
employers to contribute
to these accounts, and
it provides them with
a tax credit to offset
administrative cost.
Although the program is
automatic, employees can
opt out.
Nearly
half of Americans workers
"an estimated 75
million" currently
lack access to an employer-sponsored
saving plan. This
bill, which is based on
a proposal developed by
the Retirement Security
Project, will extend payroll-based
saving opportunities to
those not currently covered.
"The
legislative will change
the way Americans save
and will impact moderate
and lower wage employees,
especially Hispanic and
other minorities,"
said Roger A. Campos,
MBRT President & CEO.
"Every business owner
wants to take care of
their employees and build
better workspace."
The
proposal has won strong
support from both sides
of the Hill, small and
minority-owned businesses
and from groups such as
AARP, Brooking and the
Heritage Foundation.
According
to Luis Borunda, CEO of
The Signman, Inc. and
a member of the Minority
Business RoundTable, which
represents CEO's of the
leading minority-owned
businesses in America,
"The Automatic IRA
will help small business
leaders like myself encourage
retirement saving among
those who need it the
most, particularly our
low-to-moderate-income
workers. By making
the process as simple
as a payroll deduction,
removing fiduciary responsibility,
and providing a small
tax credit to offset administrative
costs, this policy provides
a competitive advantage
for the small and minority-owned
business community"
"Our
goal is introducing this
bill is to ensure that
all Americans have easy
access to a retirement
account and the ability
for part of their wages
to go directly from their
paycheck into this account,"
noted Senator Bingaman.
"Small businesses
are already swamped with
paperwork and automatic
IRA payroll deductions
make saving easy for both
workers and employers
said Senator Smith."
Only
1 in 10 eligible individual
contribute to an IRA now.
The Retirement Security
Project estimates that
the Automatic IRA could
increase participation
rates significantly and
ultimately, could increase
net national saving by
nearly $8 billion annually.
About
the Minority Business
RoundTable:
The
Minority Business RoundTable
is the only national non-profit
organization for CEOs
of the nation's leading
African-American, Asian-American,
Hispanic-American, Native-American
and other minority-owned
businesses. Its members
analyze and help formulate
effective public policies
that impact minority-owned
business. MBRT charter
member firms earned gross
sales from $53 million
to more than $5 billion
per company and employs
between 80 and 4,000 people.
The Minority Business
RoundTable is proud to
have Aerotek, Inc., one
of the nation's leading
provider of personnel
services, the Business
Roundtable, an association
of chief executive officers
of the country's leading
corporations, the Kauffman
Foundation, U.S. Department
of Energy, U.S. Small
Business Administration,
U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, U.S. Department
of Labor and other federal
agencies as strategic
partners. For more
information on the Minority
Business RoundTable, please
visit www.mbrt.net.
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NEWS
RELEASE
Minority
Business Roundtable
1629 K Street, Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20036
Contact: Roger A Campos
President & CEO
Minority Business Roundtable
202-289-8881
rogercampos@mbrt.net
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