James M. Jeffords: “the problem of retirement security is an ever mounting challenge to the future welfare of our Nation. More than 51…”

“the problem of retirement security is an ever mounting challenge to the future welfare of our Nation. More than 51 million Americans are not covered by any kind of pension plan. The aging of the baby boom generation will dramatically increase the retired population in proportion to the working population early in the next century. Our Nation is facing certain crisis if we fail to take steps to correct this problem of people working until retirement--and finding that their Social Security benefits fail to maintain adequate and acceptable living standards. Despite the proliferation of retirement products in various forms of IRA's and 401(k) plans, patterns clearly show that those who earn enough to save probably do. Our problem is that over the last 15 years, we have had no increase in the percentage of our workforce that is participating in a qualified pension program. Mr. President, in order to ensure that this Congress does face the issue of retirement security for all working Americans and not just the fortunate minority who are saving, I am introducing with my colleague, Senator Bingaman, the Retirement Security for All Americans Pension Pro-Save Act.”