A bipartisan Senate bill “would level the playing field” among retirement plans by authorizing 403(b) plans to invest in bank collective investment trusts, or CITs, the ABA said in a letter to the bill’s sponsors.
In its letter, ABA said CITs are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and must comply with federal tax laws limiting eligible investors to U.S. tax-qualified retirement plans and U.S. governmental retirement plans. CITs also must meet specific bank management standards, follow investor eligibility restrictions and are subject to the broad anti-fraud requirements of the federal securities laws. “Given the significant benefits of CITs for retirement investing, we believe that CITs should be made available without restriction to 403(b) plans in the same manner as traditional pension and 401(k) plans,” ABA said.