This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

I am sending the following letter to all six Utah Congress members:

"In August, I will be 57 years old. I have put 10 percent of my income into a tax deferred investment account since I started my profession 30 years ago. I have worked at my current job for 18 years. I am an engineer who designs medical products and I make more money than many people. I have $103,000 in my 401K account and $49,000 in my IRA account. I am two years into a 30-year mortgage on my house.

"I am not able to put any of my income into my IRA tax deferred because my company has a 401K plan and I am over the income limits for additional IRA contributions. I could forgo the 401K, but my company provides a 50 percent match to my contributions up to 6 percent of my income and hence this would be foolish.

"I have lived a very financially conservative life. During my 18 years of parenthood my family (wife and one daughter) flew on an airplane once. This only occurred because my wife worked for an airline at the time. Our infrequent vacations were short and low budget.

"I have suffered some fairly typical setbacks. Divorce. Being swindled by the private equity sector. And generally being swindled by the financial industry. I see the financial industry as a well designed means of transferring wealth from the working person to the financial industry. From the poor to the rich.

"My 401k plan provides very limited investment options and poor results. Under the current circumstances my only hope of retirement is turning the $49,000 in my IRA into approximately $1.5 million within the next eight years. Such a result is highly unlikely.

"I believe our country desperately needs a different means of ensuring retirement. 401K accounts have failed. I believe the Republican philosophy of unfettered free market capitalism has failed America.

"Please ask yourself how you will reflect on your life when you are near the end of your life. Will you feel like you helped your constituency and your country, or will you know you have only helped yourself and the wealthy?"

Douglas Rush

Salt Lake City