Published

June 24, 2020

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Washington D.C.– The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness (CCMC) today commended the Department of Labor (DOL) for proposing investor protections under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

“We welcome the actions taken today to provide added protections for investors and retirees,” said Tom Quaadman, executive vice president for the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness, U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “Americans who are struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic should not have to sacrifice part of their retirement income because of politics, which is what drove the 2015 policy. The new proposed rule makes investor return the central focus for workers’ pensions and employee retirement accounts.”

In 2015, the DOL changed its guidance for pension managers to focus on social, environmental and other issues, and away from their fiduciary responsibility to achieve the best rate of return for investors and retirees. Using the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and retiree accounts to advance a political agenda prevents pension managers from focusing on their fiduciary duty, according to the Chamber. The U.S. Chamber has long advocated for investor protections, and today’s actions will help ensure that happens.

Quaadman continued, “Special interest activism has no place, any time, in meddling with the retiree investments of hard-working Americans. The U.S. Chamber looks forward to continuing to work with the DOL to ensure the investments of pension beneficiaries are protected.”

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