Sometimes it takes a state the size of California to set off nationwide change. Let's hope its plan to automate IRA enrollment gets the same reception. California's plan would create state-managed Individual Retirement Arrangements for the state's 6 million workers without access to employer plans.
Just like a 401(k), these plans would be portable - transferable from one job to the next. And just like the California Public Employees Retirement System, the assets in these portable IRAs would likely grow faster than the average mutual fund and certainly faster than the 2 percent interest on most savings plans.
It's not a done deal yet; California's state legislators are still debating it. But this is certain: Now is the right time to help America's working class, from the dry cleaner down the street to the part-time bagger at the grocery store to anyone on the entrepreneurial track.
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| Jennifer D. Meacham, Gather Money Correspondent | ||||
Jennifer's column, "The Bottom Line," is published every week to the Gather Essentials: Money channel. Jennifer is a business and personal finance columnist who covers money matters for RedwoodAge.com and real estate news for RISMedia, and co-authored the best-selling retirement investing guide "IRA Wealth: Revolutionary IRA Strategies for Real Estate Investment" (Square One Publishers, New York). Keep up on the latest news and analysis into how you can take control of your business and personal financial future by joining Jennifer's "Self-Directed Investing 101" network. | ||||
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Comments: 9
Anyway, back to the original article. I think, depending on how this will work out, that individual IRAs would be a great idea. I'm not personally all about having the state control my assets that I will need later in life(when there will be more people on the planet than humanly possible), however I think putting some sort of saving s plan in place may be the only way to get some of my generation (I'm 26) to save for retirement.
There are quite a few of us that are saving for retirement and beyond, but there are quite a few more who are living day to day consistently. It will certainly be interesting to see how this pans out for the rest of the nation. Thanks for the article!