Secure Retirement
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Secure Retirement
A Secure and Dignified Retirement All American workers should be able to enjoy a secure and dignified retirement. At retirement, no one should have to face the prospect of working forever to keep their head above water or face a dramatic decline in income that jeopardizes their financial security.
The American labor movement played a leading role in establishing today’s retirement system. It was at the forefront of the effort to create Social Security—the foundation of our retirement that benefits all workers. Through collective bargaining, the labor movement led efforts to get private companies and government employers to provide workers with a defined-benefit pension, which guarantees retirees with a steady income for life on top of Social Security.
Unfortunately, the current system benefits too few workers and is under tremendous stress. Social Security is under attack by the White House and Wall Street who want to privatize it, which would do away with a guaranteed income and shift the financial risk to beneficiaries.
Many companies have dismantled their defined-benefit pension plans or refuse to provide a plan to their employees, and the share of private sector workers with a pension dropped from 50.3 percent in 2000 to 43.2 percent in 2006. Many employers have shifted to retirement savings plans such as 401(k)s for their workers, but these typically provide much less income than a pension, shift all of the risk to the worker and often do not include an employer contribution. Worst of all, half of all workers have no retirement security plan other than Social Security.
We can't afford to act rashly with regard to such a large and vital program. We can and should build on the current public and private systems to ensure a dignified retirement for America’s hardworking men and women before generations of workers and their children are faced with a financial crisis. MORE ON RETIREMENT SECURITY:
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