Workers have found themselves part of a great experiment—one that has given individuals and families far more control and responsibility for financing their own retirement, and simultaneously exposed them to greater risk. Some families are preparing appropriately, but others struggle to save for retirement while meeting competing, and often more-immediate, personal needs related to emergencies, homeownership, and education.
The commission highlights 6 areas where the US retirement system needs to improve:
Source: BPC Securing Our Financial Future
This report presents a comprehensive package of bipartisan proposals to address six key challenges:
1) Many Americans’ inability to access workplace retirement savings plans.
2) Insufficient personal savings for short-term needs, which too often leads individuals to raid their retirement savings.
3) Risk of outliving retirement savings.
4) Failure to build and use home equity to support retirement security.
5) Lack of basic knowledge about personal finance.
6) Problems with Social Security, including unsustainable finances, an outdated program structure and failure to provide adequate benefits for some retirees.
Please read the full report to learn the commission's suggestions for how to improve these areas of the retirement ecosystem in the United States. While we may not fully agree with all of the commissions' suggestions, we can all agree the current retirement ecosystem has significant gaps for many Americans that need to be addressed.
