Initiative to Examine Retirement Savings Policy

The initiative is being co-chaired by former Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad and former Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security Administration Jim Lockhart. Over the course of the next year, says Conrad, the team will craft a package of realistic policy recommendations to address the future savings needs of Americans and will model the recommendations’ projected impact on retirement security and the federal budget. The final recommendations are slated to be released in early 2015.

He adds that in the coming months, the initiative will hold roundtables and issue a series of white papers highlighting challenges related to retirement savings, defined contribution accounts, annuities, Social Security Disability Insurance, and the intersection among housing, student loan debt and savings.

The initiative will examine key issues such as:

• Federal policies that encourage and discourage savings, including the tax code;
• The pending insolvency of Social Security’s disability insurance;
• The interaction between Social Security and private savings, including defined benefit and defined contribution plans; and
• The impact of long-term care needs on retirement security and housing as a form of savings.

Additional members of the initiative include a broad range of financial experts, business leaders, former elected officials, academics and other key industry stakeholders. The group will meet for the first time in June.

The Bipartisan Policy Center was founded in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell. More information about the center’s Personal Savings Initiative, including its members, can be found here. More details about the center are available here.