Retirement SecurityAccording to EPI Vice President Ross Eisenbrey, "The financial well-being of average Americans is under assault. Rising economic inequality and increasing economic pressure on the middle class from globalization, the decline in unionization, and bad public policies are threatening the financial security of average Americans in ways we haven’t seen in more than 60 years." The insecurity of the American middle class plays out dramatically in retirement. The conservative “you’re on your own” philosophy has accelerated the decline of traditional pension plans, led to an attack on guaranteed Social Security benefits, and has offered no hope in the face of declining personal savings. The Agenda for Shared Prosperity has released three new reports on retirement security that would take us in a fundamentally different direction. Teresa Ghilarducci (New School for Social Research) presents a proposal for Guaranteed Retirement Accounts, a plan that combines the best features of traditional defined-benefit pensions and 401(k)-style defined-contribution plans. The GRA plan is built on the strong foundation of Social Security, so ensuring the long-run adequacy and viability of the program is essential. Nancy Altman (Pension Rights Center) presents a plan to narrow the 75 year Social Security revenue shortfall so as to Protect Social Security's Beneficiaries, and Virginia Reno (National Academy of Social Insurance) presents options for improving the Social Security benefit structure by Building on Social Security's Success. Reports Building on Social Security's success Protecting Social Security's beneficiaries: Achieving balance without benefit cuts Guaranteed retirement accounts: Toward retirement income security Events Retirement Security ( November 20, 2007) |
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