As the nation anticipates President Donald Trump's first budget, which will inevitably detail tax measures that will take a hit, new research by the Investment Company Institute finds that Americans value the current tax incentives for retirement saving and "overwhelmingly" oppose changing them.
ICI, a trade group for mutual funds and ETFs, reports that U.S. households favor preserving retirement account features and flexibility, with 89% of all US households disagreeing with the statement that the government should take away the tax advantages of defined contribution accounts, and 90% voting against the idea of reducing the amount that individuals can contribute to DC accounts.
The research, released Wednesday, "American Views on Defined Contribution Plan Saving, 2016," also found that even among households that do not own DC accounts or individual retirement accounts, 82% reject the idea of taking away the tax treatment of DC accounts.
"As Congress moves forward in looking at tax reforms, we hope lawmakers will keep in mind that tax-favored savings are an extremely important underpinning of the successful 401(k) system," said ICI president and CEO Paul Schott Stevens, in a statement announcing the report.