Democrats call for retirement savings reform
One of the linchpins of the Obama Administration’s Middle Class Task Force report, released late in January, is retirement savings reform – and there are signs that reform is sorely needed.
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said this week that $2 trillion in investor wealth was eliminated by the stock market’s downturn in late 2008 and early 2009. And the market’s recent spikes and downturns are making investors increasingly gun-shy: A recent survey conducted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants found that a majority of financial planners’ clients have become more risk-averse in the past year.
Seventy-four percent of planners said their clients were avoiding risk as a result of the shaky stock market.
Many people haven’t saved enough for retirement, and there are concerns that the recent market volatility will scare away potential investors. In a bid to make Americans more confident in investing and more likely to save for their later years, the Obama Administration proposed specific reforms in its task report.
So-called 401(k) plans – which let workers save in accounts set up by their employers – would see an overhaul under the administration’s proposal. Fees on the plans would be made more transparent, and the report encourages plan administrators to make financial advice available to accountholders.
A tax credit for retirement savers would match 50 percent of the first $1,000 invested for households earning up to $65,000.
And, in perhaps the most significant reform, retirement plan enrollment would be made automatic for workers whose employers did not provide a 401(k). The enrollment process would be streamlined at workplaces that already offer savings plans, as well.
"The initiatives make it easier to save for retirement," the task force report said.
Related posts:
- Passage of financial reform bill nears The financial regulatory reform bill came a step closer to...
- President Obama releases healthcare reform proposal, irks insurers After months of deadlock between Democrats in the House and...
- Individual investors say the political environment is making them nervous Recent political upheaval is making investors anxious, a recent survey...
- Obama Administration approves $600 million for hard-hit housing markets Some of the nation's most battered housing markets will soon...
- AOL to cut its workforce, split from Time Warner AOL, Inc. has announced it will cut its work force...
Funny part is that the Republican party was formed to FREE the slaves (which the Democrats opposed). Martin Luther King was a Republican. And now they have their own ‘Coffee Party” full of children of the rich and people (of all colors) are ready to fall at their feet. By the way, do you know the difference between the Republican and Democrat parties? Republicans are rich greedy company owners who never worked a day in their lives and Democrats are the children of the rich greedy company owners that are still rebelling against their rich greedy Republican parents. And until Mommy and Daddy stop taking care of them, they will continue to do so. The worse part about it is, the hard working Americans are the ones stuck in the middle because somebody has to work so the money can keep rolling in. Oh, that’s right, Clinton (another poor little rich boy) sent all the good jobs overseas when he signed NAFTA so all the rich, greedy, company owners could pay kids 50 cents a day in sweat shops. (It’s legal over there)