Fred Reish and Brad Campbell Discuss 401(k) Contribution Limits With InsuranceNewsNet

Benefits and executive compensation partners Fred Reish and Brad Campbell spoke with InsuranceNewsNet in recent article, “Could Trump seek revenue via a sharp cut in 401(k) contribution limits?” to discuss the possibility of the revival a 2017 plan to sharply reduce the amount of income American workers can save in tax-deferred retirement accounts.

Campbell noted that the No. 1 source of untaxed benefits is health benefits. Retirement benefits are No. 2. “We’re where the money is when it comes to trying to cut some of these deals. So that does raise concerns and risks.”

He also discussed the potential of opening up retirement accounts to alternative investments and cryptocurrency options.

The Trump administration is “basically saying we need a comprehensive system of regulation that makes sense, rather than being negative without a comprehensive system, which is a reasonably fair way to say how both the SEC and DOL were approaching crypto issues under the Biden administration,” Campbell added.

Private equity firms are aggressively lobbying to be an option within Americans’ tax-deferred defined contribution plans. “I think the private equity industry sees all the money in 401(k) plans, and wants to be a part of that, and believes that they can contribute positively,” said Reish.

“I think it's a good guess that whether it's cryptocurrency, private equity, kind of a variety of alternative investments, that we're likely to see a more receptive Trump administration to that,” Campbell concluded.