Savings & Ownership Caucus

Regardless of income or race, kids are growing up without knowing the basics that will keep them out of financial trouble. In a time when the personal savings rate is negative, credit card debt is growing and kids are more likely to see their parents go through a bankruptcy than divorce, financial education is more important that ever.

Many groups from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors have responded to this need by mandating financial education in schools, developing… more

To build a policymaker consensus around the goal of broadening asset ownership, New America’s Asset Building Program proposed and facilitated the establishment of a bi-partisan, bi-cameral Congressional Savings and Ownership Caucus in February 2005.

This forum brings together key Members of Congress, their staffs, and leading outside experts to discuss -- in a non-partisan, forward-looking manner -- recent research findings, policy options, and potential legislative opportunities to advance the goal of expanding savings and asset ownership in America.

America's personal savings rate is abysmally low. Last year the personal savings rate was negative, the lowest annual rate since the Great Depression. Whether the objective is to promote retirement security, improve educational attainment, provide a financial cushion for life transitions, or increase national savings, the need to increase household savings is vitally clear. Public policy should take a cue from some innovative financial institutions that encourage connecting savings with the one activity that almost every household undertakes -- tax… more

As the House-Senate conference takes up the pension funding and reform bill this month, the conversation about how best to update the nation's retirement saving system is far from over.

The pending pension bill may achieve some important improvements, but it does little to address the fact that American workers are clearly not saving enough: A majority of the workforce does not participate in an employer-sponsored plan, an increasing number of large companies are freezing their traditional pension… more

As Congress is now preparing a second round of Katrina-related proposals, it's important to bring ideas to the table that will help families achieve economic stability. Hurricane Katrina highlighted the fact that many Americans live in abject poverty, without any assets to draw upon in bad times.

The asset-based ideas proposed by the President, including an urban homesteading act to encourage the ownership of land and homes and worker recovery savings accounts for job training and education offer a… more

Over 100 people, including key congressional staffers, leaders from the financial community, and policy advocates attended Solutions for Increasing Savings, Ownership and Retirement Security, co-sponsored by the New America Foundation and the Retirement Security Project, in conjunction with the Congressional Savings and Ownership Caucuses. Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ), Congressman Philip English (R-PA), Congressman Harold Ford (D-TN) and Congressman Jim Cooper (D-TN) were active participants throughout the half-day conference, bolstering an event that included many of the pre-eminent scholars on… more

This event is co-sponsored by the New America Foundation and the Savings and Ownership Caucus

Personal savings rates have plummeted in the past decade to an all-time historic low. Many Americans aren't saving enough money for retirement, households are increasingly living day to day on high-interest credit cards, and millions are one medical emergency or layoff away from financial crisis. Moreover, poor savings rates mean that there is less money for domestic investment and to finance our government's debt. As a… more

A bi-partisan group of Senators and Representatives launched the Savings and Ownership Caucuses at a press conference on Thursday, February 17th at 1:30 p.m. in HC-9 of the U.S. Capitol. The respective Senate and House caucuses, facilitated by the New America Foundation's Asset Building Program, explore, debate and advance policies to build savings and assets for all Americans, and low-income Americans in particular.