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submitted 8 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

Greased by lobbying and campaign cash, tax breaks for retirement savings are one thing Congress agrees on. But they also blow out the deficit and add to income inequality.

Five months before Congress faced a near-catastrophic standoff over the debt ceiling, with Republicans demanding restrictions to food and Medicaid programs to rein in spending, a bill that raised the cost of private retirement savings accounts to $282 billion per year was quietly signed into law.

In this era of deeply divided politics, the 2022 bill known as Secure 2.0 was hailed as a bipartisan success — a victory for average Americans. It had sailed through the House by a whopping 414-5 vote. It followed four other major bills passed between 1996 and 2019 that dramatically expanded taxpayer savings – all equally lauded as bipartisan victories.

But that rare issue that brought a divided Washington together also increased wealth disparities and the federal deficit. And the victory was most strongly applauded by the burgeoning financial services industry, for whom tax-advantaged retirement savings has transformed a $7 trillion retirement market in 1995 to a $38.4 trillion behemoth in 2023.

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[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 12 points 8 months ago

I do not work for a company that offers such a thing. And I never have.

This is what I'm saying about assumptions.

[-] gorysubparbagel@lemmy.world 31 points 8 months ago

You can sign up for a Roth IRA then, there's no need for anything from your employer to get one. As far as I recall there's no minimum amount of money you need to put in at start.

[-] bhmnscmm@lemmy.world 29 points 8 months ago

I don't know why you're being down voted. I swear, some people would rather complain than make the smallest effort to help themselves. It's good advice.

Even very small contributions to a retirement account can make a big difference in old age.

[-] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 16 points 8 months ago

This is really good advice. There’s no minimum, but there is an annual maximum of $7K.

[-] yaaaaayPancakes@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago

If your employer doesn't offer a 401k or similar plan, the IRA limits are actually higher.

this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2024
302 points (96.9% liked)

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