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Finance Panel Announces Hearing on Obama 'myRA' Proposal

FEB. 25, 2014

Finance Panel Announces Hearing on Obama 'myRA' Proposal

DATED FEB. 25, 2014
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Brown to Chair Hearing on

 

"Retirement Savings for Low-Income Workers,"

 

Second in a Series of Hearings on the Current Retirement Crisis

 

 

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

 

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Tomorrow, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) will chair the first Congressional hearing on the "myRA" retirement plan for low and middle income workers that was proposed by President Obama in his 2014 State of the Union Address. The Finance Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions and Family Policy will examine "Retirement Savings for Low-Income Workers," the second in a series of hearings on the current retirement crisis and Social Security's fundamental role in retirement security. Testifying, among others, will be Mark Iwry, the architect of the Administration's myRA plan and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department.

Forty-four percent of American households are "liquid asset poor," meaning that they lack more than three months of savings to cover the costs of an unexpected crisis like job loss or medical emergency. Fifty-two percent of private sector employees have access to a retirement plan on the job -- the lowest rate since 1979. Among households approaching retirement (age 55-64), the median balance held in a retirement account is only $12,000 for all households. In fact, nearly 50 percent of Americans will retire below or near the poverty line, living on a food budget of about five dollars per day. Because of a lack of savings and other factors, more seniors depend exclusively on Social Security upon retirement. In fact, more than 75 percent of low-income households rely on Social Security benefits for all of their retirement income. For the 38 million retired workers who will receive Social Security benefits in 2014, the annual benefit was less than $16,000.

Social Security provides a foundation for retirement security that is needed more than ever. Proposals like the myRA can build on that foundation to create a sustainable 21st century retirement system.

Those testifying at the hearing include:

  • J. Mark Iwry: Senior Advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary (Tax Policy) Retirement and Health Policy, United States Department of the Treasury, Washington, D.C.;

  • Diane Oakley: Executive Director, National Institute on Retirement Security, Washington, D.C.;

  • Stephen Utkus: Principal & Director, Vanguard Center for Retirement Research, Malvern, Pennsylvania; and

  • Judy Miller, MSPA, FSA, MAAA: Director of Retirement Policy, Executive Director, American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA), ASPPA College of Pension Actuaries, Arlington, Virginia.

 

WHO:

 

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Finance Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions and Family Policy

 

WHAT:

 

Hearing on "Retirement Savings for Low-Income Workers"

 

WHEN:

 

TOMORROW: Wednesday, February 26, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. EST

 

WHERE:

 

215 Dirksen Senate Office Building
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