Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.
Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder
Aspen Institute
Blog Posts, and Publications
Savings for Life: The Pathway to Financial Security for All Americans
January 1, 2007
Financial Security Program
Aspen IFS joined leaders from the financial services industry and nonprofit sector at a press conference to release our report, “Savings for Life: A Pathway to Financial Security for All Americans,” on Thursday, May 3 at 12:00 p.m. at the United States Capitol, Room HC-8. Reps. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Philip English (R-PA), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) participated, and Congressmen Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) and Tom Petri (R-WI) served as honorary hosts of the event. Watch the video.
Savings for Life features a series of policy recommendations for increasing financial security for all Americans – across income levels, and at every stage of life. It is the culmination of more than two years of a groundbreaking, bipartisan collaboration with CEOs from the financial services sector and public policy experts to identify market-based strategies for more Americans to save, invest and own.
The report’s proposals include four innovative savings vehicles: Child Accounts (modeled on the United Kingdom’s Child Trust Fund); Home Accounts (to be used for the down payment on a home); America’s IRA (a standardized, simple IRA with a government match for working Americans without access to employer-based retirement plans); and Security “Plus” Annuities (basic life annuities to provide an additional layer of lifetime, guaranteed income as a complement to Social Security).
