Featured Reports

The Automatic 401(k): A Simple Way to Strengthen Retirement Savings

Over the past quarter century, private pension plans in the United States have trended toward a do-it-yourself approach, in which covered workers bear more investment risk and make more of their own decisions about their retirement savings. Some workers have thrived under this more individualized approach, amassing sizable balances in 401(k)s and similar plans, which will assure them a comfortable and relatively secure retirement income.

For others, however, the 401(k) revolution has fallen short of its potential. Work, family, and other more immediate demands often distract workers from the need to save and invest for the future. A disarmingly simple concept—what we call the automatic 401(k)”—has thepotential to cut through this Gordian knot and improve retirement security for millions of workers through a set of common sense reforms.

The Genetic Town Hall

The Genetics and Public Policy Center’s Public Consultation Project on Genes, Environment, and Health consisted of focus groups, interviews with community leaders, a survey, and a series of town halls. This report summarizes the five town hall sessions, which took place from March-May 2008 in Jackson, Mississippi; Kansas City, Missouri; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; and Portland, Oregon.

The Savers' Credit: Expanding Retirement Savings for Middle- and Lower-Income Americans

The Saver’s Credit is the first and so far only major federal legislation directly targeted at promoting taxqualified retirement savings for middle- and lower-income workers. Although this is an important step, several options are available to improve the design, not the least of which is the credit’s scheduled expiration at the end of 2006.The first section of the paper provides background on the evolution and design of the Saver’s Credit. The second section discusses the rationale behind the Saver’s Credit and the role of such a credit in the retirement income security system as a whole. The third section examines empirical data and models of the revenue and distributional effects of the Saver’s Credit. The fourth section discusses measures that would expand the scope and improve the efficacy of the Saver’s Credit.

Time For Change

Academic medical centers (AMCs) form the intellectual core of medicine, training future doctors and researchers, and establishing standards that guide practicing physicians in the wider community. Where pharmaceutical industry marketing conflicts with the goals of patient care and professionalism, AMCs can provide leadership and guidance by establishing new standards on physician-industry relationships.

Time for Reform: Hoping for a Home for the Holidays

Each year, more than 500,000 children spend the holidays in foster care. In some cases the holidays may be spent with extended family, but more often it is spent with foster families to whom children are not related, or in group homes or institutional settings. Although foster care is an important safety net for children who have suffered abuse or neglect, being in foster care is not always easy.