For Immediate Release

December 20, 2022

Patriotic Millionaires: Omnibus Retirement Changes are a Giveaway to the Rich 

“This law will make my heirs hundreds of thousands of dollars wealthier. It will do virtually nothing for the worker who toasted my bagel this morning.” 

Washington, DC –  Congress’ upcoming omnibus spending package will include changes to tax treatment of retirement savings, with language pulled directly from the SECURE 2.0 Act. These changes include some minor provisions to help low-income earners save for retirement, but the vast majority are designed to allow high earners to avoid paying more taxes.

In response, Morris Pearl, Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and former managing director at BlackRock, Inc., released the following statement:

“I’m tired of tax cuts for the rich being sold as help for the poor. The retirement changes in the omnibus package overwhelmingly benefit wealthy people like me while doing almost nothing for the people who truly struggle to save for retirement. This bill does not make it easier for workers to save for retirement, it just makes it easier for high-income earners to shelter more of their earnings from taxes.

This law will make my heirs hundreds of thousands of dollars wealthier. It will do virtually nothing for the worker who toasted my bagel this morning. This may be good for the children of some rich people, but in the long run, the increased inequality it creates is bad for everyone, including my own family.

This legislation is not what America needs to help workers save for retirement. Congress should scrap SECURE 2.0 and start from scratch with something that would help all Americans, not just the rich, save for a comfortable, well-deserved retirement. A multi-billion dollar tax cut for the rich should not be the last act of a Democratic Congress.”

For additional information or interview requests, please contact Amanda Bowden at amanda@patrioticmillionaires.org.