An Equitable Path to Retirement Security: Retirement Savings Vehicles and Social Security

Last Updated: June 1, 2021

This explainer explores legislation intended to strengthen retirement security in Congress, in particular the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021. While the bill would provide greater access to pre-tax retirement savings options for working people, it would not provide retirement security to as broad a swath of people as proposals that strengthen and expand Social Security. For the reasons explained below, though the former approach is meaningful for some, mainly higher-income Americans, the latter approach will help families across the income spectrum. The author thanks the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Economic Policy Institute, and Social Security Works for their valuable feedback.