Santa Clarita financial advisor says GOP Savings Recovery Act will ease Americans’ concerns about retirement future. Responding to growing concerns among American families about losses in their retirement, college, and personal savings, U.S. House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) assembled a group of top Republican members for a working group called the Savings Solutions Group to develop legislation aimed at helping Americans rebuild lost savings.  Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA) served in that working group and today joined the other members to unveil the Savings Recovery Act, a bill that will help families protect what they have and begin to rebuild what they have lost.

“American families are understandably anxious about the savings they have lost in this economic downturn,” said McKeon. “Republicans have pledged to be the party of better solutions, and that’s why we’re proposing the Savings Recovery Act. This legislation will give families the freedom and flexibility to save more and rebuild their nest eggs.”

McKeon says the Savings Recovery Act proposed by Republicans offers a direct response to Americans’ concerns about losses in their retirement and other savings plans, and that the legislation would allow Americans to more quickly and easily begin to restore their lost savings. Specifically, the Savings Recovery Act would:

• Make it easier for Americans to save more for their retirement by increasing the contribution and catch-up limits for individuals and families.
• Restore college savings by extending the existing SAVERs Credit to contributions made to 529 college savings accounts, effectively reducing by up to half the cost of a family’s contribution to the plan. 
• Increase retirement income by doubling the Social Security earnings limit from $14,160 to $28,320 and allowing more Americans to increase their income without being hit by the Social Security earnings penalty.
• Provide tax relief for investors and seniors by immediately suspending the capital gains tax on newly acquired assets for the next two years, raise and index to inflation the amount of capital losses allowed against ordinary income to $10,000, and suspend taxes on dividend income through 2011.
• Stabilize worker pensions and helping employers invest in the future by temporarily providing an increased glide path for recognizing losses and two additional years to resolve pension funding shortfalls.
• Preserve employee-controlled 401(k)s by blocking efforts to wipe out 401(k)s entirely and replace them with government-run accounts.

Tim Shaner, president and financial advisor of Capital Consultants, a wealth management group based in Santa Clarita, says the Republican savings plan addresses the concerns most Americans have about their retirement future.

“Hard working people trusting that their savings will be there for them have watched that dream diminish, but the measures in the Savings Recovery Act will help.  The plan includes constructive, proactive ways to ease contribution limits, help control inflation, and reduce taxation.   Making current retirement plans more transparent and encouraging savers to become more involved through better education will add to a brighter future for us all.”

More information on the House GOP’s solutions to restore Americans savings is available at www.GOPLeader.gov/savings.