May 6 (Bloomberg) -- Putnam Investments Chief ExecutiveOfficer Robert Reynolds plans to urge regulators and investmentprofessionals today to expand workplace retirement plans andmake them safer.
Reynolds, in the text of a speech set to be delivered inWashington, proposes mandatory 401(k) enrollment for workerswhose employers offer the plan and bigger tax breaks forcompanies that match contributions. He will speak at an eventorganized by 401kWire.com, a retirement industry Web site.
The average retirement-account balance sank 30 percent to$58,000 in the two years ended Dec. 31, according to HewittAssociates Inc., a Lincolnshire, Illinois-based benefits-consulting firm. Investors had $2.7 trillion in 401(k) accountsas of Sept. 30, according to the Washington-based InvestmentCompany Institute, a trade group representing mutual funds.
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