The much-discussed “myRA” retirement plan, established by President Obama last year, has received a new website from the US Treasury. The myRA plan is unquestionably one of the administrative moves that the present administration has taken in recent years that have raised worries from many investors. Why?
Many people who think that the United States is moving closer to socialism find it alarming that President Obama can establish a new government retirement savings plan “without legislation,” in the President’s own words. The government’s assurance that it will guarantee the principal amount invested is further unsettling given that, according to Forbes, actual inflation increased at a pace of 6.4%. This could lead to investors’ “saving” money via a myRA only to find out at retirement that their money has lost value and they have not saved enough to retire comfortably, or at all.
With the government’s backing, myRA plans are slated for lots of publicity and ad campaigns in 2015. This could cause some investors to put money they otherwise would have put into a 401(k) or a self-directed IRA into an account that will “pay a variable interest rate” subject to the whims of the U.S. Treasury. By the way, isn’t the fact that the U.S. Treasury is in charge of retirement accounts a little worrying, given the fact that it has completely and utterly failed in its core mission to “act as a steward of U.S. economic and financial systems,” as its website claims?
With the current administration’s myRA “innovations” and the recent news that next year’s $1.1 trillion spending bill allows companies to start making the same kinds of trades that caused the recession, it is no surprise that Congress and the President may be considering taking even further steps to limit what one is allowed to do with self-directed Individual Retirement accounts.
By some accounts, Congress is discussing limiting the types of assets that can be held by IRAs. This means that if you hold things like real estate or LLCs within your IRA, you could soon have an IRS target on your back.
Sources say members of Congress are concerned that wealthy Americans are using the tax advantages of IRAs to their advantage, leading some conservative pundits to accuse the U.S. government of punishing those who have worked hard, saved and followed the rules, only to face a situation in which the rules may change.
While Individual Retirement Accounts will most likely survive (for now), it is easy to see how President Obama and Congress could be motivated to make drastic changes to alter the landscape of retirement account saving. For more information on how current retirement account regulations, as well as proposed legislation to limit IRA saving, affects you, call a Janguard IRA adviser toll-free at 800.571.6341 today and discover how easy and empowering it is to secure your independence from a falling dollar and a wasteful, untrustworthy government.
