Obama Discusses Retirement Security Agenda at Roundtable in Cincinnati

Senator Barack Obama held a roundtable today to discuss his retirement security agenda with Ohioans struggling to save for their own retirement. Obama has proposed strengthening Social Security, ensuring that all Americans have access to a portable retirement accounts, protecting pension plans, and providing all Americans with the incentives to save throughout their working careers.

“A secure retirement is no longer a guarantee for the middle class,” Senator Obama said today. “It’s harder to save and harder to retire. Pensions are getting crunched. The promise of social security may grow harder to keep for future generations. That’s why my agenda for retirement security will protect Social Security, lift up savings for working people, and reform bankruptcy laws to protect working people.

Senator Obama has proposed retirement security agenda that includes the following tenets:

Creating automatic workplace pensions
Expanding retirement savings incentives for working families
Eliminating income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000
Requiring full disclosure of company pension investments
Reform corporate bankruptcy laws to protect workers and retirees
Strengthen Social Security

An Ohio-specific fact sheet on Senator Obama’s Retirement Security Agenda is available HERE.

Senator Obama’s remarks at today’s roundtable follow as prepared for delivery:

Remarks on Retirement Security
Senator Barack Obama
February 25, 2008

As prepared for delivery

Americans who work hard their entire lives have earned the right to retire with dignity and security. That’s the promise that each of us wants to be realized within our own families, and it’s a promise that we must keep for all American families. But Washington is not working to preserve this fundamental part of the American dream.

A secure retirement is no longer a guarantee for the middle class. It’s harder to save and harder to retire. Pensions are getting crunched. The promise of social security may grow harder to keep for future generations. That’s why my agenda for retirement security will protect Social Security, lift up savings for working people, and reform bankruptcy laws to protect working people.

It starts with protecting Social Security today, tomorrow, and forever. For millions of Americans, Social Security is the difference between a comfortable retirement and the risk of poverty. We have an obligation to secure the future of one of the most successful programs in our history. That starts with talking straight to the American people about the challenges that lie ahead. Social Security is strong, but as more baby boomers retire, the long-term cash-flow needs to be addressed. We have to make sure Social Security is there for future generations.

I don’t believe we need to raise the retirement age or cut benefits. I’m also against privatization, and stood up in the Senate against President Bush’s misguided plan to create private accounts. Right now, the Social Security payroll tax only applies to the first $97,500 a worker makes. I think the best way forward is to adjust the cap on the payroll tax so that people like me pay a little bit more and people in need are protected.

But Social Security is not enough. We have to encourage savings so it’s easier to retire. But today, personal saving is at an all-time low. Americans are dealing with higher costs for everything from tuition to childcare to the price at the pump. Meanwhile, 75 million working Americans and over 7 million Ohioans don’t have employer-based retirement plans.

That’s why I’ve proposed automatic workplace pensions. There will be no red tape or complicated forms – employers will provide a direct deposit of a small percentage of each paycheck into your account. You can add to it, or you can opt out at any time. And employers will have an easy opportunity to match employee savings. If you switch jobs, your savings will roll over into your new employer’s system. If you become self-employed, you will control your account. The federal government will match these savings to help you reach a secure retirement. For families that make under $75,000, we’ll match 50 percent of the first $1,000 you save.

Studies show that about 80 percent of Americans will enroll if given the option to pursue my plan. This will put a secure retirement within reach for millions of working families, and lift up the amount of savings in this country.

We also need to reform bankruptcy laws that put special interests ahead of your ability to save. Today, even if you work hard and play by the rules, you risk losing everything if your company goes bankrupt.

When I first arrived in the Senate, I opposed a bankruptcy bill that protected banks and the credit card industry instead of your savings. And as President, I’ll make working families my top priority. Instead of saying it’s ok for Americans to lose everything if they get sick, we’ll help you back on your feet if you go bankrupt because of illness. Instead of protecting banks and credit card companies, we’ll protect your pensions. We’ll limit circumstances when retirement benefits can be cut. We’ll increase the wages and benefits that workers can claim in bankruptcy court. And instead of cutting the safety net for workers while protecting golden parachutes, we’ll prohibit executive bonuses during bankruptcy.

We also need to press companies to be more responsible. Millions of Americans depend on their pension funds to get by. Yet across the country, workers have had the rug pulled out from under their retirement because of risky investments. Well I think workers have a right to know what their money is being invested in – so I’ll require full disclosure of pension fund investments, and press firms to make their pension funds solvent. You work hard for your pension – you need these pension funds to work for you.

Making these changes won’t be easy. We’ll have to talk straight with the American people. We’ll have to push back against the special interests. And we’ll have to come together to keep America’s promise – the promise that in this country, folks who work hard will be able to retire with the dignity and security they have earned. That’s a principle worth fighting for. And that’s what I will do every day when I am President of the United States of America.
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