[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 118 (Friday, July 31, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2112]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     THE GENERATING RETIREMENT OWNERSHIP THROUGH LONG-TERM HOLDING

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                             HON. PAUL RYAN

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 30, 2009

  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, I, along with Congressman Artur 
Davis and Congressman Joseph Crowley, re-introduce today the Generating 
Retirement Ownership Through Long-Term Holding (``GROWTH'') Act of 
2009. At a time when our economy is struggling to recover, this 
bipartisan bill would provide a valuable tool to hardworking Americans 
saving for retirement and other financial goals.
  Mutual fund investors are overwhelmingly middle-income Americans 
investing for the long term. For many of these investors, mutual funds 
provide a low-cost, professionally managed, diversified opportunity in 
which they can save for their own retirement. Currently, investors who 
buy shares in a mutual fund and hold them for the long term find 
themselves taxed as they go--even though no fund shares were sold and 
no cash was received. This legislation allows mutual fund shareholders 
to keep more of their own money working for them longer by deferring 
capital gains taxes until they actually sell their investment. The 
GROWTH Act makes it easier for these individuals to meet their 
retirement savings goals.
  Most of our Nation's mutual fund shareholders report that retirement 
is the primary reason why they are saving. More than 29 million 
Americans are saving through long-term mutual funds held in taxable 
accounts, either to supplement their employers' retirement plans, or 
because they do not have access to such plans. Seventy-six percent of 
mutual fund investors say that their primary financial goal is to save 
for retirement. At the same time, almost half--about 76.2 million of 
158.1 million workers--are not offered any form of pension or 
retirement savings at work.
  Meanwhile, the costs once in retirement are growing. For example, the 
Employee Benefit Research Institute estimates that, depending on their 
source of health insurance coverage and their comfort level with having 
a 50-percent, 75-percent, or 90-percent chance of having enough savings 
to cover health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket health care 
expenses in retirement, men retiring at age 65 in 2019 will need 
between $114,000-$634,000, while needed savings for women range from 
$164,000-$754,000.
  Mutual fund investors who automatically reinvest are doing the right 
thing. They are saving for the longer term, contributing to our 
national economy, and building up their own retirement nest egg. These 
Americans should be encouraged to save not punished for doing so 
through a tax on automatic reinvestments. The tax code needs to help, 
not hinder, saving for retirement. I urge my colleagues to join us in 
this effort and cosponsor this legislation.

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