Dept Of Labor - Retirement Accounts

Look out, the Dept of Labor is trying to take away investment freedom and require investment firms to be fiduciaries over retirement accounts (401K, IRA, Roth, etc).  Fewer choices for your retirement plan. No more covered calls and cash secured puts. The government doesn't trust that you're smart enough and they think they know what's best. Here's a link to let them know how you feel.

VERY IMPORTANT information for anyone trading options in an IRA (or wanting to trade options in an IRA)
http://www.tdameritrade.com/takeaction

Part of the course our country is on.  They make it ever so difficult to save or to do anything with cash assets today by any legitimate means.  This restrictions are solely focused on the middle class and any vehicles they have to save or earn a dime outside of employment income. How dare us!  Limitations on contributions to 401k, having to have earned income to contribute to Roth, limitations on IRA contributions.  Can't remove cash out of a bank or transfer such unless DHS forms are filled out. One and on....

They don't want the people to save or have any assets.  They want that money in play, so they can take it.

Yet, zero restrictions on capital gains, carried interest investments.  Look at who is involved there, it's typically those well above the middle class income earners.  We're talking about people who don't earn squat from employment income.

It's all a scheme to get more control. That simple.

The government already stole social security so why not dab into the last pot of gold - the US retirement savings system!

Yep, they want more control of our retirement savings. Gotta wonder if the idea was pushed by lobbyists from our incompetent financial asset management industry (aka asset accumulators). They see the handwriting on the wall. Consumers are tired of their poor performance and high fees and independent investors are breaking off as well as new competition from several robo investment firms.

The good news is, there's been 10's of thousands of letters sent to local senators and congressmen in just a couple of days time. There's some hope.

My State government literally took billions of dollars out of our pension system that was paid by the employees and employers. Now they can't pay it back, make it look like it is the pension system that is making the state go broke and make us out to be the bad guys. Courts have ordered the State to pay it back but they refuse. The state took the money, made investments that went south and now that were broke. They don't care, they will somehow get their pension.

joemac wrote:

Yet, zero restrictions on capital gains, carried interest investments.  Look at who is involved there, it's typically those well above the middle class income earners.  We're talking about people who don't earn squat from employment income.

If government truly had the peoples interest, they would do a progressive rate capital gains tax, and curtail spending of something, anything. Government is the beast that feeds itself,more and more control, and benefiting those "connected".

TheQuig wrote:

My State government literally took billions of dollars out of our pension system that was paid by the employees and employers. Now they can't pay it back, make it look like it is the pension system that is making the state go broke and make us out to be the bad guys. Courts have ordered the State to pay it back but they refuse. The state took the money, made investments that went south and now that were broke. They don't care, they will somehow get their pension.

They've done this all over the country. School districts too get in on the action. $50+ million dollar high school football stadiums. Municipalities all over the country are so mismanaged. They're in it for the short term gain and getting "theirs" while screwing those in the system that are 15-20 years out. There's loads of people in California making 100k+ in public pension annual retirements. The summary on many of these I have looked at is 90% of their highest salary with X years. They have literally stolen from future public retirees, while leaving the tax payer to bail the municipalities out because of their mismanagement. Meanwhile the tax payers get less in services. I believe it was San Diego where 62% of all tax dollars go to people, salaries, retirement. No private business could operate at that level of G&A. Private sector G&A averages 15 to 35%.

So the court ordered the state to repay, the money and they refuse. So isn't that defying the court and jail time is optional? So who would go to jail?

It certainly is a reason to go to jail. That would be the governor and potential presidential candidate.
That is why I retired and put in for my pension while it is still there. I had also sent out dozens of resumes, but people don't need to hire an older person that will be gone in a few years anyway. I'm not bitter over that, hire someone just out of college and pay them half. I will have to go to work to help with some cash flow, but right now the state is still not allowing me to go back to work(school) until January 1. Has to do with the pension plan that I told them I wasn't going to apply for. It's a crazy system.