Berna Brennan

Addressing the Decline of Traditional Pensions

Communications — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 22:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
03/15/2006 - 11:00am

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 plans, and last year -- for the first time since the Great Depression -- the nation's individual savings rate was negative.

It is unclear whether any reform can staunch the exodus of firms out of defined benefit plans, or what changes can induce individuals to save enough on their own through 401(k)-style plans. Given the precarious state of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation-- and the bitter battle over the appropriate discount rate currently taking place --it is likely that new legislative initiatives will be surfacing soon.

Our panel will discuss the root causes of the steady disappearance of traditional defined-benefit pensions and examine what legislative reforms have the potential to either preserve these plans, or successfully extend new savings incentives and mechanisms in their place. Please join us for this very timely discussion.

The Congressional Savings and Ownership Caucus is Co-Chaired by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), Rep. Phil English (R-PA), Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN) and Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI).

Life After Katrina

Communications — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 14:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
11/03/2005 - 12:00pm

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 promising policy path, while limited in scope. What other ownership and asset-building ideas can help these families rebuild financially sound lives?

Given the sobering survey data indicating that more than half of the evacuees do not plan to return to the Gulf region, how can asset-building policies work for limited-income families around the nation? This diverse expert panel, including experts from the Katrina-affected region, will share their views on potential solutions.

The Congressional Savings and Ownership Caucus is Co-Chaired by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN ), Rep. Phil English (R-PA), Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN), and Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI).

Solutions for Increasing Savings, Ownership and Retirement Security

Communications — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 11:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
06/14/2005 - 12:00pm

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 retirement, savings and asset building.

Jeanne Hogarth of the Federal Reserve opened with an in-depth view of the current trends regarding individual savings. Following this introduction, the two panels focused on the dual challenges of improving existing savings vehicles and seeking out new ways to improve savings.

Presenters on the first panel included Ray Boshara, Director, Asset Building Program, New America Foundation, Jagadeesh Gokhale, Senior Fellow, CATO Institute; Gene Steuerle, Senior Fellow, Urban Institute; Paul Weinstein, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Fellow, Progressive Policy Institute; and, Rene Kim, Vice President of Retirement Products, Schwab.

The second panel featured Maya MacGuineas, Director, Fiscal Policy Program, New America Foundation; David John, Research Fellow, The Heritage Foundation; Mark Iwry, Senior Adviser, The Retirement Security Project and Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Bernie Wilson, Vice President, Business Development and Community Outreach, H&R Block; Carol Wayman, Senior Legislative Director, CFED; Dallas Salisbury, President and CEO, EBRI; and, Bob Greenstein Executive Director, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Panelists discussed a range of proposals including the ASPIRE Act, the Savings for Working Families Act, revising the Saver's Credit, permitting split tax refunds, promoting 'opt-out' 401(k) programs among employers, instead of opt-in, and providing the same exclusion for 401(k)s and IRAs that pension funds receive in the asset limit tests from government benefit programs like food stamps, SSI, and TANF.

Peter Fisher, former Federal Reserve Board official and current Managing Director of BlackRock Inc, closed the conference with a provocative overview of the underlying monetary, tax, and fiscal policies that promote consumption over savings, while advocating a progressive consumption tax to replace payroll taxes and a bold proposal for the U.S. government to offer annuities.