Update

Congress Daily PM

December 10, 2004

Employment. A proposal to encourage workers to invest in annuities, which provide a fixed, guaranteed lifetime payment to retirees, has found bipartisan co-sponsors in Sens. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., and Kent Conrad, D-N.D. Smith and Conrad introduced legislation Tuesday that would shield from taxes half of the income investors in annuities receive upon retirement, up to $20,000. Income above that amount would be taxed at regular rates. "The risk of outliving one's savings is one of the biggest problems facing retirees," Smith said in a Senate floor statement. A spokeswoman said Smith wanted to establish the proposal as a priority before congressional debate on Social Security and retirement ramps up next year. The proposal is being pushed by a broad coalition of industry groups that includes the Financial Services Roundtable, the American Council of Life Insurers and a host of agriculture and small business groups. Companion legislation was introduced in the House last July by Reps. Nancy Johnson, R-Conn., and Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio.