Retirement 401k News Blog

President Obama plans to strike a new Social Security and Medicare “bargain” with the American people, he told the Washington Post last week. “What we have done is kicked this can down the road. We are now at the end of the road and are not in a position to kick it any further,” he said about the government’s management of costly entitlement programs. “We have to signal seriousness in this by making sure some of the hard decisions are made under my watch, not someone else’s.”

Here are Obama’s retirement proposals.

Income tax. The Obama administration would like to eliminate income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000 annually. The White House estimates this will provide a tax cut averaging $1,400 to 7 million seniors.

Automatic workplace pensions. Obama plans to automatically enroll employees in workplace pension plans. Employers who do not currently offer a retirement plan will be required to enroll their employees in a direct-deposit IRA account. Workers may opt-out if they choose. The White House says this program will increase the savings participation rate for low and middle-income workers from 15 percent to approximately 80 percent. Families that earn less than $75,000 would get a 50 percent match on the first $1,000 automatically deposited into their account.

Related posts:

1. Obama Aims to Increase Retirement Savings
2. How Obama and McCain Want to Change Your Retirement Accounts
3. 3 Ways Obama’s Budget Would Affect Retirement Savers
4. New Rules Push Workers Into 401’s
5. Obama’s Plans for Your Retirement