{"id":36745,"date":"2020-07-27T16:26:48","date_gmt":"2020-07-27T20:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/?p=36745"},"modified":"2020-07-28T22:16:29","modified_gmt":"2020-07-29T02:16:29","slug":"pension-protection-particularly-helps-black-americans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/ncppr\/2020\/07\/27\/pension-protection-particularly-helps-black-americans\/","title":{"rendered":"Pension Protection Particularly Helps Black Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new rule<\/a><\/strong> proposed by the Trump Administration would require that \u201c[f]inancial managers must maximize pension beneficiaries\u2019 returns; they may not imperil those returns by investing on any other basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most people probably thought that this was already the professional duty of their investment advisors and pension fund managers. But there\u2019s been a lot of market activity lately based less on profit and more on politicized environment, social and governance (ESG) goals. The new U.S. Department of Labor rule is important because it is aimed at \u201cprevent[ing] financially risky advocacy for a social justice agenda on someone else\u2019s dime.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"As Project 21<\/a><\/strong> Co-Chairman Council Nedd II<\/a><\/strong> points out in a commentary<\/a><\/strong> for Issues & Insights, this will be particularly helpful for the black community.<\/p>\n

Project 21 and the National Center\u2019s Free Enterprise Project have\u00a0submitted<\/a><\/strong> separate public comments to the Federal Register supporting the proposed rule. Nedd’s commentary is largely taken from Project 21\u2019s comment.<\/p>\n

The Labor Department\u2019s proposed rule applies to the work of private pension funds \u2013 something that Council calls a \u201cbest bet for black retirement security.\u201d Unfortunately, \u201ctoo many black Americans are financially unprepared to retire,\u201d he says. For one thing, blacks have been called \u201cbad savers\u201d<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 some of this coming from \u201ceconomic conditions, distrust of institutions and an overall lack of planning.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is why this rule is of vital importance, especially to black Americans:<\/p>\n

[A]ny impediment to their ability to build retirement security that is identified and yet still allowed to continue unabated is a disservice to black lives.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the Trump Administration\u2019s proposed rule clarifying the \u201cinvestment duties\u201d of certain pension plan managers matters. It addresses a clear and present financial danger in which too many fund managers are making investment decisions for the purpose of broader social justice goals rather than giving beneficiaries the best possible return on their investment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is specifically important to blacks since:<\/p>\n