The American Council of Life Insurers and the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries wish they were playing a more prominent role in the 2006 National Summit on Retirement Savings, which started today.
Bush administration officials and others should be paying more attention to the role that the life insurance industry can play in helping Americans save for retirement, ACLI President Frank Keating said here at a press conference that the ACLI, Washington, sponsored with the ASPPA, Arlington, Va.; the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Falls Church, Va.; and a NAIFA affiliate, the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting, Falls Church, Va.
The ACLI and the ASPPA are involved with the summit but not playing a major role in summit presentations.
“The products of this industry, which are not a part of this conference, need to be,” Keating said.
The Bush administration has proposed creating a system of 3 types of savings accounts that could reduce or eliminate the tax advantages that Americans now gain by purchasing life insurance policies and annuities.
“It is important to emphasize savings, but it is also important to emphasize what kind of savings,” Keating said. “Not all savings are alike.”
By treating all types of savings alike, the administration proposals fail to acknowledge the value of annuities and life insurance policies in encouraging long-term savings, Keating said.