WASHINGTON — Working Americans who do not have access to retirement accounts through their employer would have comprehensive retirement coverage under a new bill Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced Thursday. The Pensions for All Act would guarantee retirement benefits to tens of millions of Americans who currently do not have access through their workplace.
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Working Americans who do not have access to retirement accounts through their employer would have comprehensive retirement coverage under a new bill Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced Thursday
The Pensions for All Act would guarantee retirement benefits to tens of millions of Americans who currently don’t have access through their workplace
“If we are serious about addressing the retirement crisis in America, corporations must be required to offer all of their workers a traditional pension plan that guarantees a monthly income in retirement,” Sanders said in a statement
About 20% of Americans aged 50 and older have no retirement savings, according to the American Assn. of Retired Persons
“We can no longer tolerate a rigged retirement system that allows the CEOs of large corporations to receive massive golden parachutes for themselves while denying workers a pension after a lifetime of work,” Sanders said in a statement.
“If we are serious about addressing the retirement crisis in America, corporations must be required to offer all of their workers a traditional pension plan that guarantees a monthly income in retirement.”
If a corporation refuses to offer such a plan, Sanders insists their workers be allowed to receive the same kind of guaranteed pensions as Congress members.
Members of Congress are guaranteed a pension through the Federal Employees Retirement System, which provides benefits based on years of service and an average of their highest three years of salary.
The Pensions for All Act would reduce the contribution requirements for self-employed workers and small businesses.
In a statement, Sanders’ office said the legislation is intended to build on his Social Security Expansion Act, which would apply the Social Security payroll tax on incomes above $250,000 to fully fund the program through the end of the century and increase benefits by $2,400 a year.
About 20% of Americans aged 50 and older have no retirement savings, according to the American Association of Retired Persons. According to the Social Security Administration, 12% of men and 15% of women rely on their Social Security benefits for at least 90% of their income.
“We’ve gone from being a country that promised security and dignity in old age to being a country that forces people to work until they’re in the grave,” United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain said in a statement of support for the bill shortly after its introduction. “After a lifetime of hard work, every American deserves the promise of a secure, dignified retirement—not a future filled with fear, uncertainty, and poverty.”