A National Retirement System: Part I

Beside a universal healthcare system, the other program which our people and country need is a full national retirement system – not just social security. Far, far too many of our citizens reach retirement age without the savings and benefits which would allow them to live their final years without living in or near poverty.
These are the facts: First, many small businesses do not even offer any retirement benefits. And, many workers are paid so little that there is no way that they could save money for retirement, as life is a constant struggle for mere economic survival. Second, most home-building and many other construction companies do not even pay social security, much less retirement – they simply treat their employees as individual contractors. Third even among companies that do offer retirement benefits, most of those companies have retirement programs that are severely underfunded – meaning that those funds would eventually do bankrupt.
Further, most companies have a lengthy period required for the employee to become vested in the retirement program. If the employee leaves the company before meeting the vesting requirement, he or she loses all earned retirement credit. That means that many workers feel trapped in unsatisfying positions for a long time. An, let’s face it: Social Security is not a full blown retirement program, but merely an economic safety net to make sure that our elderly do not live in abject poverty.
Now, given these issues to address, what should be defining attributes of a really good national retirement system? The following are some:
• Every day worked, no matter who the employer, or every year in which income is earned counts toward the aggregation of retirement benefits.
• The level of benefits should provide for a decent standard of living.
• Everyone pays into the system regardless of the sources of income.
The question is how do we achieve these attributes, and what will be the benefits if we do? Those will be provided in the Part II post.