Issue Position: Retirement Security

Issue Position

With exploding medical costs, skyrocketing tuitions, and record-breaking gas prices, families are struggling just to meet their needs, let alone adequately saving for retirement. At the same time, several company pension plans are in jeopardy, making a comfortable retirement even more difficult to achieve. To minimize these risks, we must enact real pension reform to protect employees from CEO corruption and mismanagement.

I oppose Bush's efforts to privatize Social Security. His plan to create private accounts for younger workers will only increase retirement uncertainty. Instead, I support securing Social Security's long-term stability and solvency. Rather than raiding the Trust Fund and mortgaging our future, we must strengthen Social Security by restoring fiscal responsibility.

Although essential, protecting Social Security is not enough to guarantee a secure retirement for every American. We also need to encourage saving and provide working families with the tools required to meet their financial goals. I fully support new personal savings incentives, such as the House Democrats' AmeriSave Plan, which expands retirement accounts and combines the advantage of compound interest with Social Security's guaranteed benefit by matching dollar-for-dollar up to the first $1,000 contributed to a retirement plan ("AmeriSave Match").

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