![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2048px-Bernie_Sanders_Fight_Oligarchy_rally_Tempe_Arizona_cropped.jpg\")
Bernie Sanders Fight Oligarchy rally, Tempe, Arizona. Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\nIn one of the scariest moments in modern history, we’re doing our best at ScheerPost to pierce the fog of lies that conceal it but we need some help to pay our writers and staff. Please consider a tax-deductible donation<\/a>.<\/p>\n By Sharon Zhang \/ Truthout<\/a><\/p>\n Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) is taking on the \u201cretirement crisis\u201d in the U.S. with a new bill aimed at guaranteeing pensions or solid retirement plans for every worker in America.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Sanders introduced the Pensions for All Act,\u00a0which would require corporations<\/a>\u00a0to provide a retirement plan equivalent to or better than the pensions plan offered to members of Congress.<\/p>\n \u201cIf 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,\u201d Sanders said in a statement. \u201cAnd if corporations refuse to offer a decent retirement plan, their workers must be allowed to receive the same type of pension that every member of Congress receives.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can guarantee a defined benefit pension plan for members of Congress, we can and we must provide that same level of retirement security to every worker in America,\u201d he went on.<\/p>\n Congress\u2019s retirement plan, Federal Employees\u2019 Retirement System (FERS), offers\u00a0a far higher contribution<\/a>\u00a0into retirement than most employers\u2019 retirement plans, while also giving out higher payments in retirement. Meanwhile, Congress\u00a0has enabled growing<\/a>\u00a0inequality in retirement accounts, with research finding that the gap between the average amounts in the accounts of the top 10 percent and the working class has grown drastically in recent decades.<\/p>\n Research\u00a0has found that<\/a>\u00a0pensions could play a major role in reducing poverty.<\/p>\n But corporations\u00a0have worked<\/a>\u00a0to massively gut pensions. According\u00a0to data from the Department of Labor<\/a>, only 9 percent of workers have a pension now, compared to 44 percent of workers in 1975.<\/p>\n This has led to an affordability crisis for retirement-age Americans and seniors, with more than half of seniors living off less\u00a0than $25,000 a year<\/a>\u00a0and no retirement savings. Over a fifth of seniors are living in poverty, a far worse rate than in other wealthy countries, Sanders\u2019s office points out.<\/p>\n The bill, introduced to build upon Sanders\u2019s legislation to\u00a0strengthen and increase Social Security benefits<\/a>, has been endorsed by several unions and progressive organizations.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve gone from being a country that promised security and dignity in old age to being a country that forces people to work until they\u2019re in the grave,\u201d said United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain in a statement in support of the legislation. \u201cPensions have long been the bedrock of retirement for working-class people, but corporate greed has eroded that foundation. The billionaire class gutted pensions in pursuit of profit, and Washington let it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, instead of making it easier for Americans to retire, Republicans\u00a0have proposed raising the minimum age<\/a>\u00a0for benefits like Medicare and Social Security in recent years.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, this month, Republicans passed a bill that will slash Medicaid and other crucial anti-poverty programs, which will make it even harder for Americans to save for retirement. Right-wing figures\u00a0have openly said<\/a>\u00a0that they are against the idea of Americans being able to retire at all, effectively saying that Americans should work until they die.<\/p>\n Editor\u2019s Note: At a moment when the once vaunted model of responsible journalism is overwhelmingly the play thing of self-serving billionaires and their corporate scribes, alternatives of integrity are desperately needed, and ScheerPost is one of them. Please support our\u00a0independent journalism by contributing to our online donation platform, Network for Good, or send a check to our new PO Box. We can\u2019t thank you enough, and promise to keep bringing you this kind of vital news.<\/p>\n You can also make a donation to our\u00a0PayPal<\/a>\u00a0or subscribe to our\u00a0Patreon<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sharon Zhang<\/p>\n Sharon Zhang is a news writer at\u00a0Truthout\u00a0covering politics, climate and labor. Before coming to\u00a0Truthout, Sharon had written stories for\u00a0Pacific Standard,\u00a0The New Republic, and more. She has a master\u2019s degree in environmental studies. She can be found on Twitter:\u00a0@zhang_sharon<\/a>.<\/p>\n Please share this story and help us grow our network!<\/p>\n
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