Recently I published an article on Medium.com about the unintended consequences of hastily drafted changes to the Build Back Better legislation currently being considered by Congress. These changes, if they remain in the final bill, will create a serious financial hardship to individuals that hold private investments in their IRA accounts.
Many custodians and other interested parties are offering model letters for those impacted by these changes to send to their members of Congress. Frankly, considering the contentious debate over other aspects of this bill that have been highly publicized, I believe these model letters are too general in nature and thus do not make a compelling argument for action on the part of the recipients.
My preferred approach is to appeal to the better nature of your representatives by clearly demonstrating the specific financial hardship you and your family will have to endure. Couched in these terms, your representatives will be able to better understand the impact in terms that may even relate to their own personal finances.
Moreover, the implication of my article on Medium is that once you have made your situation known, then, if the bill is passed with the proposed changes intact, the consequences will no longer be unintended. Congress will have taken the position that the hardship created for you and your family is intentional.
Here are links to a model letter and a House Ways and Means analysis document that reflect my suggested approach. The letter can, of course, be easily modified to describe your own personal situation.
To the extent that you are willing to share details in your letter about the specific investment(s) you have made and your non-“Mega IRA” net worth, your letter will also demonstrate that the prohibition on accredited investments does not in any way improve the fairness of tax policy in the U.S.
For greatest impact, I suggest that you do not rely on email alone to communicate your message. Doing so will dilute the importance and urgency of what you are saying.
Instead, I recommend that you spend the time and money to have paper versions of your letter and attachment delivered by FedEx or UPS overnight mail, in one of their cardboard document envelopes marked “Extremely Urgent.”
Also, this article that was published on Medium explains why contacting your representative by phone as well is effective, easy, pleasant, and satisfying.
You can find contact information for your Representative here, and for your Senators here.
I wish you well in your efforts to combat this hardship, and I am available to provide you with assistance if needed.
Alan Johnson