Mark Kirk: “I rise in support of the permanent extension of the retirement provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief…”

“I rise in support of the permanent extension of the retirement provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Within the next 15 years, more than 76 million baby boomers will retire. Studies have shown that older baby boomers have less than 40 percent of the savings they will need to maintain their standard of living in retirement. Last year, Congress took action to remedy this situation by including the provisions of H.R. 10, the Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act of 2001, in the tax relief bill. I supported this action and believe that the increase in personal retirement savings it will bring about in the coming years will benefit millions of Americans. The Department of Labor estimates that less than one in every three women are covered by a retirement pension plan. These plans are proven to pay out greater benefits than Social Security, yet they are not readily available to most women and employees of small businesses. Last year's bill addressed this concern by providing an immediate benefit-- the ``catch up'' provisions--for working women and individuals age 50 and above. These provisions allow women reentering the workforce, presumably after raising children, to contribute an additional $5,000 to their IRA. This will allow those approaching retirement age to save the extra money they need, while also allowing women who work intermittently to ``catch up'' for money not contributed because of time off.”