WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) helped introduce bipartisan legislation to expand  retirement savings opportunities for workers at non-profit organizations. The Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act – which Peters introduced with U.S. Senators Katie Britt (R-AL), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) – would allow employees that are enrolled in 403(b) retirement savings plans to invest in collective investment trusts (CITs). A CIT is a tax-exempt investment vehicle that provides a diversified, pooled investment option, similar to a mutual fund. Under current law, unlike 401(k) holders, 403(b) plan participants are not able to use this stable, lower-cost investment option in their plan. This commonsense legislation would create parity between 403(b) and 401(k) retirement savings plans to help improve retirement security for more than 15 million hardworking employees of non-profit organizations, such as hospitals, universities, and charities. According to the Michigan Nonprofit Association, as of December 2021, Michigan had over 53,000 nonprofit organizations that employed almost 11 percent of the state’s workforce.  

“Hardworking charity and non-profit employees who support our healthcare and human services, arts and culture, civic engagement, and more deserve access to all available financial tools that can help them plan for retirement,” said Senator Peters. “This legislation would put those using a 403(b) plan on a level playing field with other retirement plan participants by allowing them to invest in collective investment trusts, giving them an equal opportunity to achieve their financial goals.”  

The Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act is supported by the American Retirement Association, Investment Company Institute, American Heart Association, American Council of Life Insurers, Habitat for Humanity, Principal Financial Group, Prudential, Stable Value Investment Association, State Street Global Advisors, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, National Council of Nonprofits, Council on Foundations, and United Way.  

Peters has long fought to ensure that every American worker can retire with dignity. Peters led passage of the historic Postal Service Reform Act, which set the U.S. Postal Service on a more sustainable financial footing and protected the retirement benefits of thousands of dedicated postal workers in Michigan and across the country. As Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Peters also authored and advanced bipartisan legislation to ensure U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers (CBPOs) can receive the retirement benefits they were promised when starting their service. 

Peters has also been a steadfast defender of workers’ right to join a union and collectively bargain for better wages and benefits and a dignified retirement. Peters is a proud cosponsor  of, and has urged Congress to pass, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would strengthen the federal laws that protect workers’ right to form a union freely and fairly. Peters joined UAW members on the picket lines in Michigan numerous times as they negotiated for better wages, benefits, and job security last year. Peters grew up in a union household, where his mother was a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) steward and his father was a member of the National Education Association (NEA). 

###