In a letter to Neal this month, the IRI wrote that giving workers a lifelong income option as part of their 401(k) or similar plans would provide retirement security akin to a traditional pension plan. Pensions provide retirees with a set amount of benefits, while 401(k) values are based on the amount put in and market performance.
Insurers are Neal's top lifetime campaign contributors, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, with MassMutual employees Neal's No. 1 lifetime donor. MassMutual is based in Neal's district in Springfield, Mass., where he was once mayor.
Republicans singled out the annuity piece of Neal's auto-IRA plan, offering an amendment during the markup of the measure to scrap it. The amendment's author, Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina, said the requirement is a "massive giveaway to the insurance industry at the expense of thousands of small businesses."
Republicans generally opposed the auto-enrollment measure, saying it would be burdensome on small businesses that comply and costly for those that don’t. The National Federation of Independent Business put the provision at the top of their list of concerns with the House reconciliation bill in a letter to lawmakers Friday, arguing it would violate President Joe Biden's pledge not to raise taxes on business owners making under $400,000.
NFIB Vice President of Federal Government Relations Kevin Kuhlman wrote that the auto-enrollment mandate could cause small businesses to "make difficult decisions that may include cutting employee benefits elsewhere, reducing employee hours or total number of employees, or increasing the price of their products or services."