Kay Bailey Hutchison: “this bill closes a loophole in the homemaker IRA bill that we passed in the last Congress. We made the homemakers of our…”

“this bill closes a loophole in the homemaker IRA bill that we passed in the last Congress. We made the homemakers of our country equal to wage earners in their ability to save for their retirement futures through individual retirement accounts. Presently, every person who is working at home or working outside the home can set aside $2,000 a year that earns tax-free interest for their retirement security. However, what families are not able to do under existing law and what this bill will enable them to do, up to $40,000 in income, is to save under a homemaker IRA even if the homemaker's spouse has a pension plan. This revision is critical to encourage average-income families to save for their retirement. Mr. President, if our young people will avail themselves of this wonderful new opportunity which Congress has given them to allow homemakers as well as those who work outside the home to contribute $2,000 a year to an IRA, by the time they retire at age 65, they will be able to build a nest egg of a remarkable $1 million, if they both start contributing the maximum allowable amount from age 25--$1 million for this working, one-income family. If they even wait until they are 35, they would be able to build up $500,000 for retirement. This is an opportunity that I hope every young couple will look at and take advantage of to provide for their retirement security. Last year we in Congress did the right thing by extending the IRA to homemakers.”