Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton proposes tax credits worth up to $500 a year to match an individual’s contributions to new "American Retirement Accounts" or A.R.A.s. Clinton proposes the tax credit and the new accounts to help more Americans save for their retirement.
"We’ve got a lot of workers — more than half in American right now — without any employer-based retirement savings account, including 770,000 workers right here in Iowa," Clinton says. "Think about that."
Clinton envisions allowing Americans to put up to $5000 "pre-tax" dollars in the new accounts each year. Many Americans currently have options like 401Ks as well as I.R.As to set their own money aside for their retirement, but Clinton says too many Americans will reach retirement age with too little in the bank.
"Fewer than one-half of American families have retirement savings accounts in any given year and those who do contribute are saving too little for their futures," Clinton says. "Nearly one-third of all households entering retirement do not have enough savings to replace even one-half of their income and that is including Social Security."
Clinton made her comments this morning during a speech in Webster City, a few hours before Republican presidential candidates gathered to discuss economic issues in a debate in Michigan.