On February 16, 2012, the Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security (Aspen IFS) hosted the Fiscal Reform and the Future of Lifelong Savings Congressional briefing, which coincided with the release of it's paper, The Freedom Savings Credit: A Practical Step to Build Americans' Household Balance Sheets. Congressmen Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and Jim Gerlach (R-PA) opened the discussion, touching on the bipartisan Concurrent Resolution they spearheaded, which underscores the importance of retirement savings incentives.
Jan 30 2012
By colby.farber
Lisa Mensah, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security (Aspen IFS), moderated an off-the-record intimate discussion on ‘Thinking Beyond the Challenges: How Lifetime Income Alternatives Can Help Reshape the Changing Retirement Landscape in America.’ Co-hosted by The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Prudential Financial Inc., and Aspen IFS, the event was second in a series of high-level discussions with national thought leaders on ways in which policymakers, industry players, and advocates can find solutions that help Americans manage and protect their retirement income.
Jan 27 2012
By colby.farber
The Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security (Aspen IFS) Executive Director, Lisa Mensah, steered a lunchtime keynote discussion at the National Academy of Social Insurance’s (NASI) ‘Social Insurance in a Market Economy: Obstacles and Opportunities’ conference.
Dec 13 2011
By colby.farber
Lisa Mensah, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security (Aspen IFS), moderated an off-the-record discussion on ‘Thinking Beyond the Challenges to Americans’ Retirement Preparedness.’ Co-hosted by The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Prudential Financial Inc., and Aspen IFS, the event was first in a series of high-level discussions that brought together business stakeholders, issue experts, and policymakers for a conversation about emerging innovations in the workplace retirement benefits system.
Dec 08 2011
By colby.farber
On December 8, 2011, Robert Weinberger, Senior Fellow at the Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security (Aspen IFS), testified at the Internal Revenue Service’s public meeting to discuss the vision of a real-time tax system. This event kicked off a series of meetings that will run throughout 2012 to gather feedback on how to implement a series of long-term changes to our nation’s tax system.
Sep 09 2011
By colby.farber
On Friday, September 9, 2011, Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security’s (Aspen IFS) Executive Director, Lisa Mensah, moderated a Capitol Hill briefing on ‘Rethinking Incentives to Save for a Secure Retirement.’ The bicameral briefing, co-sponsored by the Senate Special Committee on Aging and the Brookings Institution, featured a panel of the nation's leading experts on tax, retirement, and budget policy and explored new ways to help Americans save more for their retirement years without increasing government spending.
Aug 02 2011
By colby.farber
On August 2, 2011, President Obama signed into law the measure to raise the debt limit. That same afternoon, Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson and Lisa Mensah, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute's Initiative on Financial Security (Aspen IFS), joined NPR’s Talk of the Nation host Tony Cox to tackle the question of how do we balance our obligations to the elderly while making investments in our future generations.
Jul 28 2011
By colby.farber
On July 28, 2011, the Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security (Aspen IFS) hosted a Congressional briefing on Social Security in Cannon House Office Building. The briefing, “Social Security: The Trust Fund, the Deficit, and Americans’ Retirement Security,” featured keynote remarks from Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-CA), and expert panelists Pamela Perun, Senior Policy Consultant at Aspen IFS; Patricia Dilley, Professor of Law at University of Florida Levin College of Law; David John, Senior Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation; Dean Baker, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research; and Janice Gregory, President of the National Academy of Social Insurance. The event also marked the release of Aspen IFS’s latest white paper, Social Security: The House that Roosevelt Built.
Jul 27 2011
By colby.farber
On July 27, 2011, Lisa Mensah, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security (Aspen IFS) participated in a panel discussion at the PROTECT 2011: Workplace Benefits and Financial Security symposium. The event, co-hosted by the Financial Services Roundtable, American Savings Education Council, and the Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security, focused on the importance of insuring against risk and protecting financial assets during difficult economic times. The event was held at the Newseum in Washington, DC.
Jul 21 2011
Aspen IFS Hosts Financial Regulatory Reform Conversation on 1 Year Anniversary of Dodd-Frank Passage
By colby.farber
On July 21, 2011, the one year anniversary of the historic Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation, the Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security (Aspen IFS) hosted Reforming Our Nation’s Financial System: Dodd-Frank One Year Later at the Aspen Institute headquarters in Washington DC.
After Lisa Mensah, Executive Director of Aspen IFS, delivered opening remarks, Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) and Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) kicked off the conversation, discussing their respective roles in addressing the financial crisis, the implications of new regulation, and the long-term importance of financial reform, specifically the Dodd-Frank reforms, in maintaining a robust U.S. economy. Following their remarks, Wall Street Journal Pulitzer-prize winner David Wessel moderated a brief discussion with each Senator and probed deeper regarding both their motives and expectations with the Dodd-Frank reforms.
