No issue in America today better illustrates the divergent interests of working Americans and the 1 percent than pension reform. Substantial empirical evidence shows that America’s favored retirement vehicle — the 401(k), recently renounced by its own inventors — is grossly inadequate and will leave tens of millions of Americans with insufficient retirement assets. And […]

Under the tax bill working its way through Congress, the self-employed, sole proprietors, partners, or owners of S-corporations (“pass- through business owners”) are eligible for a new deduction equal to 20 percent of their business income. The deduction reduces their taxable income and thus drops many of them into lower tax brackets. Wage earners will not […]

Yesterday we examined how SNAP helps low-income families in the short term using data from two new resources, SNAP Matters and a Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) report.  This research also shows that these short-term benefits can have long-term implications for families. By reducing poverty and food insecurity, SNAP can have lasting effects on health and development, particularly for children. […]

Introduction The key supplement to Social Security benefits is accumulations in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Increasingly these accumulations occur in 401(k) plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). The release of the Federal Reserve’s 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is a great opportunity to see how a strengthening economy, the continued maturation of the 401(k) system, […]