PSCA Says President's Budget Preserves Plan Innovation

CHICAGO – (Business Wire – May 11, 2009) – The Profit Sharing/401k Council of America (PSCA) said today that it commends President Obama for removing a provision from his final Budget that required all 401(k) plans to provide automatic enrollment.  This action ensures that employers will continue to design and modify retirement plans to best meet the needs of their business and its unique workforce. 

“Flexibility permits a ‘marketplace of ideas’ to exist,” explains PSCA President David L. Wray.  “Automatic enrollment is a great innovation, but who knows what the next great idea is?  401(k) plans have been constantly improved since their inception.  The President’s actions will ensure that this process continues.”

PSCA members invented automatic enrollment in the 1980s, and the Treasury Department provided valuable guidance.  PSCA was a key player in enacting the automatic enrollment provisions in the Pension Protection Act of 2006, when Congress enhanced and supported the attractiveness of these plan innovations that were developed in the private sector.  The President’s Budget will ensure that the beneficial partnership among employers, employees, and policymakers continues.

In 2007, over half of large plans, covering a very large percentage of all participants, offered automatic enrollment, three times as many as in 2001.

The Profit Sharing/401k Council of America (PSCA), a national non-profit association of 1,200 companies and their 6 million employees, advocates increased retirement security through profit sharing, 401(k) and related defined contribution programs to federal policymakers and makes practical assistance with profit sharing and 401(k) plan design, administration, investment, compliance and communication available to its members. PSCA, established in 1947, is based on the principle that “defined contribution partnership in the workplace fits today’s reality.” PSCA's services are tailored to meet the needs of both large and small companies with members ranging in size from Fortune 100 firms to small, entrepreneurial businesses.