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Biden ‘Unity Task Force’ Outlines Retirement Priorities, Populist Agenda

Legislation

In the leadup to a speech in Scranton, PA, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden released a 110-page policy document developed with former candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) outlining everything from retirement policy to climate change and health care coverage. 

Comprised of current and former Democratic lawmakers, as well as party surrogates, the so-called Unity Task Force was formed in May to help shore up support among the progressive wing of the Democratic party and help shape the policy positions for the party’s convention in August. 

The “Building a Stronger, Fairer Economy” and “Economic Unity” task force recommendations note that Democrats “will equalize the network of retirement saving tax breaks so that working people can build their nest eggs faster, while also providing more equitable access to these accounts through automatic enrollment and relaxed contribution restrictions for unpaid caregivers.”

One thing that was clear is that the recommendations were heavy on protecting Social Security. “Democrats will reject every effort to cut, privatize, or weaken Social Security, including attempts to raise the retirement age, diminish benefits by cutting cost-of-living adjustments, or reduce earned benefits,” says the task force recommendation on “Guaranteeing a Secure and Dignified Retirement.” “We will put Social Security on a path to solvency and strengthen it in perpetuity.”  

The recommendations further suggest that the party will seek to enact policies to make Social Security more progressive, including increasing minimum benefit payments, increasing benefits for long-duration beneficiaries and protecting surviving spouses from benefit cuts.

There’s also a nod to protect public and private pensions to ensure workers keep the benefits they have earned, as well as eliminating penalties for retirement benefits that “unfairly punish educators and other public-sector workers” and supporting reforms that address unpaid caregivers. 

Retirement Policy

So far, it still appears the most detailed retirement policy recommendations from the Biden camp are contained in the Biden Plan for Older Americans released in July 2019, which includes a section calling for reforms to the private sector retirement system.  

  • Equalizing Savings Incentives: The plan proposes to equalize the savings incentives in DC plans for middle-class workers, suggesting that the current tax benefits for these plans provides upper-income families a strong tax break for saving with limited benefits for lower income workers. The plan, however, does not provide further specifics on how these benefits will be equalized, although proposals to remove the current tax exclusions for 401(k) plans to fund a new system of Guaranteed Retirement Accounts have been floating around for years.
  • Universal Retirement Plan Coverage: The plan also proposes to provide access to an “automatic 401(k)” plan for almost all workers without a current pension or 401(k)-type plan, based on an Obama administration proposal

Scranton Speech

In case there was any doubt about how he would govern, in his July 9 speech Biden outlined a populist economic recovery plan targeted at working class families financed by corporate America.

While the speech did not go into details about his retirement policy proposals, he did make clear that he would lean on corporate America as part of his “Build Back Better” plan. “If I am fortunate enough to be elected president, I’ll be laser focused on working families, the middle-class families that came from here in Scranton, not the wealthy investor class,” Biden stated. 

Biden teed up his speech by noting that the country is facing three simultaneous crises, with the Coronavirus pandemic, the resulting economic fallout and ongoing racial injustice, and that it’s time to “come together to solve these crises.” 

“We have an economic crisis that’s left almost 18 million Americans out of work, with some of the greatest pain inflicted on small businesses and communities of color,” Biden stated. “An economy that says investing in American people and working families is more important than the nearly $2 trillion in tax breaks predominantly handed out to the super wealthy.”

In suggesting that “it’s time corporate America paid their fair share of taxes,” the presumptive nominee noted that he would seek to raise the corporate tax rate back up to 28% from the 21% imposed under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. “The idea the only responsibility a corporation has is with shareholders, that’s simply not true. They have responsibility to their workers, their community, to their country,” Biden continued. 

The former Vice President further outlined several previously announced spending and economic recovery plans, including $400 billion “in purchasing products and materials our country needs to modernize our infrastructure, replenish our critical stockpiles and enhance national security.” 

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