President Barack Obama's proposed fiscal year 2015 budget is a house of cards for the pension and 401(k) system, said Brian H. Graff, executive director and CEO of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries.

In a statement after the budget plan was released Tuesday, Graff said, "Unfortunately, this year's budget proposal includes the same wrong-headed attacks on employer-sponsored retirement plans as last year. The double tax on contributions to 401(k) plans and the misguided $3 million cap on the value of retirement benefits do not close any loopholes or curb any abuse. They punish small business owners who sponsor retirement plans for themselves and their employees. It is disappointing that an administration that claims to be concerned about giving more American workers access to retirement savings would discourage small business owners from maintaining the 401(k) plans they have now.

"Under the "double taxation" budget proposal, small business owners earning more than $250,000 would have to pay tax on contributions in the year the contributions are made, and then pay tax at the full rate when contributions are distributed at retirement. This amounts to a penalty for saving through a 401(k) plan. Who could blame a small business owner for thinking that if the government is going to penalize them for saving in a retirement plan, maybe they should not have that plan?"