hyde@koala.DEC (Genius for Hire) (10/23/85)
I received a rather shocking note in the mail today from the
Fidelity IRA management discussing the potential reduction of
IRA contributions and thought others should hear about this.
I would also suggest that you probably shouldn't barrage Fidelity
with phone calls unless you might be doing business with them in the
future.
...decwrl!decvax!koala!hyde
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October 1, 1985
Dear IRA Investor:
Last week, Congress began serious consideration of two tax law
changes that could have a significant effect on your IRA. You
deserve to have a voice in these decisions, but if you don't
hurry it could be too late.
THE FIRST PROPOSAL COULD REDUCE THE AMOUNT YOU CAN SAVE FOR
RETIREMENT. Currently, you can contribute up to $2,000 to your
IRA and also participate independently in an employer-sponsored
retirement plan. The change would reduce the amount you can
contribute to your IRA, dollar for dollar, by the amount you
contribute to certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. In
effect, many individuals could no longer make any contributions
to their IRAs.
THE SECOND PROPOSAL WOULD TAKE AWAY A DESIRABLE INCREASE IN THE
AMOUNT YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE TO AN IRA FOR NON-EMPLOYED SPOUSES.
The current combined contribution limit is $2,250 per year, but
both national parties have publicly supported an increase to
$4,000. Now, this increase is likely to be dropped from the
final bill if it is not strongly supported by the public.
We urge you to contact the House Ways and Means Committee right
now and:
o Register your opposition to any proposal that would reduce
IRAs by combining them with other retirement plans.
o Register your support to increase the "spousal" IRA.
Express your views today. For your convenience, we've enclosed a
postcard addressed to the Chairman of the House Committee on Ways
and Means. Let him know IN YOUR OWN WORDS how important your IRA
is to you. And if you have the time, send a letter or a postcard
to your own congressman, too.
Please call us at 1-800-544-6666 (in Massachusetts and Alaska,
call 617-523-1919, collect) if you would like more information
about the proposed legislation.
Sincerely,
Jane P. Jamieson
Manager, Fidelity's IRA
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The postcard they supplied was addressed as follows:
The Honorable Dan Rostenkowski
The United States House of Representatives
Committee on Ways and Means
1102 Longworth Building
Washington, DC 20515