Press Releases

Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), the top Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, today joined fellow House Republicans in outlining a series of principles aimed at helping American families protect and rebuild their hard-earned savings, from college funds to retirement accounts and everything in between. The proposals unveiled today were developed by the House GOP Savings Recovery Solutions Group, a task force convened by House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) in response to the anxiety among American families about losses to their personal savings.

“Americans are worried about the savings they have lost, and they’re looking to Washington for answers,” said McKeon. “Workers and families rely on their hard-earned savings for everything from sending a child to college to paying for unexpected health care costs to sustaining them into retirement. We can’t rebuild their lost savings overnight, but we can offer them the tools to begin to recover.”

The GOP Savings Recovery Solutions Group has developed a blueprint to help Americans begin to rebuild their lost savings. The Republican plan offers new flexibility and freedom to save while eliminating penalties in federal law that would make it hard for Americans to rebuild what they have lost. The blueprint, which will soon be introduced as the Savings Recovery Act, will address Americans’ concerns about their savings by:

• Rebuilding Americans’ retirement savings by raising the contribution and catch-up limits for individuals and families. 

• Restoring college savings by extending the existing SAVERs Credit to contributions made to 529 college savings accounts, effectively reducing by up to half the cost of a family’s contribution to the plan. 

• Increasing retirement income by doubling the Social Security earnings limit from $14,160 to $28,320 and allowing more Americans to increase their income without being hit by the Social Security earnings penalty.

• Providing tax relief for investors and seniors by immediately suspending the capital gains tax on newly acquired assets for the next two years, raising and indexing to inflation the amount of capital losses allowed against ordinary income to $10,000, and suspending taxes on dividend income through 2011.

• Stabilizing worker pensions and helping employers invest in the future by temporarily providing an increased glide path for recognizing losses and two additional years to resolve pension funding shortfalls.

• Preserving employee-controlled 401(k)s by blocking efforts to wipe out 401(k)s entirely and replace them with government-run accounts.

“As Americans look toward recovery, the very last thing we should do is allow federal rules and bureaucracy to stand in their way,” said McKeon. “The Republican proposals set forth in the Savings Recovery Act are designed to empower workers, families, and retirees, clearing the way for the savings and investment that will spur our economic recovery.”

For more information on Republican solutions to help restore Americans’ savings, please click here.

 

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