Top Features
Robbing Tomorrow to Pay for Today
Report finds that economically squeezed families are increasingly turning to easily accessible loans from their 401(k) plans to help them make ends meet.
An Oldie But Goodie
A new report from Ilana Boivie and Christian E. Weller examines Social Security's importance as a source of retirement income.Other Retirement Features
July 2, 2009
The Retirement Crisis in the Labor Market
The financial crisis and the recession are delivering a double whammy to retirees, explains Christian E. Weller. It’s time the government focused on retirees’ income security.
July 1, 2009
Taken for a Ride
A report by Christian E. Weller discusses risks in the retirement system and what policymakers can do to protect retirees' income.
June 24, 2009
Weller Debates the Future of Retirement- Part 3
The policy goal is still to provide hard-working families with the opportunity to retire in dignity. Retirement ages should remain in the mid-60s for economic and demographic reasons. And public policy therefore needs to ensure that sufficient retirement income will be available at that age.
June 19, 2009
Working Longer Isn't a Retirement Plan
Christian Weller continues to debate retirement policy in The Economist.
June 16, 2009
Weller Debates the Future of Retirement- Part 1
The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and the deepest recession since the 1980s have led many to re-examine retirement. Many older workers no longer have the means to afford a decent retirement. The data suggest that the proper reaction to this crisis is a return to the basics of retirement policy, instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater and declaring retirement as we know it over. The three-legged stool of retirement—public pensions, employer pensions and individual savings—is still intact, but it does need to be strengthened. We can do this by strengthening public retirement systems so that they can serve as the bedrock of retirement income and overhauling private savings to reduce the risks and costs associated with them, in order to afford retirees more than just the basics.
June 8, 2009
Helping Breadwinners When It Can’t Wait
Heather Boushey lays out a progressive program that would guarantee Americans access to paid family and medical leave, giving a boost to workers, employers, and the economy.
June 8, 2009
Ask the Expert: Using Social Security to Ensure Paid Family and Medical Leave
Heather Boushey explains why we need paid family and medical leave, what such a program would look like, and how we could pay for it.
March 17, 2009
Rebuilding the Retirement Dream
Ahh, retirement—so many possibilities, so little time! Turns out that for millions of Americans the dream of a secure retirement was just a dream. From 2007 to 2008, total retirement wealth in private and public sector pension plans and retirement savings plans dropped by $2.8 trillion (in 2008 dollars).
October 22, 2008
The Benefit of Defined Benefits
David Madland compares defined benefit and 401(k) plans, and shows that in uncertain times, defined benefit plans are the safer bet.
October 15, 2008
Rebuilding Retirement Security
Christian E. Weller on how has the financial crisis affected Americans' retirement income and what we can do about it.
October 10, 2008
Public Opinion Snapshot: Just Say No to Social Security Privatization
Polls show Americans don’t want privatized Social Security. They want more security, not less, writes Ruy Teixeira.
October 7, 2008
Building Better Retirement Plans
CAPAF's Christian E. Weller testifies before the House Committee on Education and Labor about building better retirement plans.
September 4, 2008
Allowing Pension Plans to Manage Risks
Christian E. Weller delivers a presentation to the Public Interest Committee of the American Academy of Actuaries during its hearing on the disclosure of market value of assets and liabilities for public pension plans.
July 30, 2008
Elderly Poverty: The Challenge Before Us
The elderly are disproportionately suffering in the economic downturn. It's time to help.
July 28, 2008
Preying on Retirement Savings
401(k) debit cards are a costly and unnecessary feature of retirement savings accounts, write Christian E. Weller and Virginia Graves.
July 22, 2008
401(k) Financial Planning
Borrowing from retirement savings is sometimes necessary, but families shouldn't have to tap these funds now due to poor health or unemployment, says Christian E. Weller.
July 16, 2008
Are You Saving Smartly for Retirement?
Christian E. Weller testifies to Congress, offering solutions for how to stabilize families so they don't feel pressured to borrow from their retirement to cover current expenses.
July 15, 2008
Defining Retirement Plans
A Joint Economic Committee hearing discussed how defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans ensure retirement income and contribute to the economy.
July 15, 2008
Insuring the Nest Egg
Retirement income experts at CAP event stress universal coverage and defined benefits plan as key to security.
July 10, 2008
The Best Retirement Plan Ever
CAPAF’s Christian E. Weller testifies on model retirement savings plans—how public sector pension plans can provide efficient and sustainable savings.
May 9, 2008
Public Opinion Snapshot: A Minority of Americans Now Expect to Live Comfortably in Retirement
New public opinion data show that only a minority of Americans believe they will be able to live comfortably in retirement.
April 23, 2008
Strengthening America’s First and Foremost Retirement Plan
February 27, 2008
How Bob Ball Dominated Social Security Debate
During the battle over President George W. Bush's plan to partly privatize Social Security, many of us engaged in the debate received long, lucid memos from a former Social Security commissioner. I used to receive similar notes from this particular person years before, when I was in the Clinton White House.
January 14, 2008
What the Public Really Wants on Retirement and Social Security
Retirement is a top American concern, yet little has been done to address their insecurities, writes Ruy Teixeira.
November 28, 2007
Progressive Growth
A new plan for the next administration to transform America's economy through clean energy, innovation, and opportunity.
October 1, 2007
This Week in Congress: 10.1.07 - 10.7.07
From the appropriations process to the genocide in Darfur, CAP provides you with resources to stay on top of the week on the Hill.
May 2, 2007
The 401(k) Fee Effect
March 30, 2007
Building Economic Opportunity
Experts at CAP event discuss how current tax policy has led to racial and economic divides and what can be done to help families succeed.
March 6, 2007
Building 401(k) Wealth One Percent at a Time: Fees Chip Away at People’s Retirement Nest Eggs
Christian E. Weller and Shana Jenkins outline a plan that would allow employers and employees to more effectively provide for a secure middle-class retirement.
December 20, 2006
Bridging the Inequality Gap with a Universal 401(k)
Universal retirement savings plans would make the economy fairer in the face of eroding pensions.
November 28, 2006
100 Days Agenda
The Center for American Progress Action Fund offers new ideas and policies for the 110th Congress during its first 100 days and beyond.
November 21, 2006
Making the Economy Fairer with Universal 401(k)
Universal 401(k) ensures access to a savings account while also promoting the U.S. economy as a whole.
November 20, 2006
Economic Snapshot for November
Personal and federal debt burdens jeopardize our economic opportunity and contribute to the slowing economy.
October 4, 2006
Rewarding Hard Work
State policy makers must work with the public sector employers and the private sector to bolster pension plans.
May 16, 2006
Pension Reform for Workers
September 7, 2005
Ensuring Retirement Income Security with Cash Balance Plans
July 1, 2005
Raising the Retirement Age for Social Security
June 22, 2005
Public Opinion Watch
May 13, 2005
Progressive Indexation
May 10, 2005
Comparing Apples to Apples: How President Bush's Middle-Class Benefit Cuts Compare to Social Security
May 4, 2005
Privatization by the Numbers
May 3, 2005
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