Most Americans want to do more to save for retirement, but they don’t know how. It’s also always easier to say, “I’ll start tomorrow,” when the expenses of today crop up.
The government should help people who want to do more to prepare for their future.
There should be opt-in retirement accounts that have defined contributions that automatically increase with people’s incomes. By opting in, an individual could define a portion of their income to be dedicated to this tax-free account, and as their income increases, or at regular intervals, the amount could be automatically increased.
Problems to be Solved
- checkPeople want to do more to save for retirement but don’t know how.
- checkSaving immediately is hard, but defining a time in the future to automatically start and increase that saving is much easier.
- It’s very hard to save for retirement years from now, and accounts seem very complex. Yet the earlier you start, the better off you’ll be. We need to help Americans simplify their financial lives by making retirement savings self-activating. It’s a lot easier to save money if it’s automatically being done for you.
Goals
- checkHelp people save for their future
- checkUse behavioral economics to build a retirement system for people to opt into
As President I will...
- Create a tax-free investment vehicle into which people can opt to automatically have a portion of their income directed, and allow them to define automatic increases to their contribution (either based on increases to their reported income, or at regular intervals).