To Save or Not to Save?

Congressional leaders, Capitol Hill staffers, and advocates participated last month in a briefing on federal and state policies and proposals to help low-income people who receive public assistance save and build wealth. Called “To Save, or Not to Save? Encouraging Saving Through Asset Limit Reform,” the briefing highlighted the ways in which removing penalties for saving would enable more individuals to become financially independent.

Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and representatives from national organizations delivered remarks. Dory Rand, supervising attorney of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law’s Community Investment Unit, gave a presentation on how some states—including California, Colorado, Illinois, Ohio, and Virginia—have exercised their authority to reform asset rules in means-tested programs.

There has been little action at the federal level to change asset limits for public benefits until now. Representative Conyers last month introduced the Freedom to Save Act (H.R. 3172), which would reform asset limits across several major income-support programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Security Income, and food stamps. Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced legislation to liberalize asset limits as part of the Farm Bill reauthorization. President Bush also signaled support for asset-limit reform in his budget by proposing to exclude retirement savings accounts in the Food Stamp Program.

“To Save, or Not to Save?” was hosted by the New America Foundation and the Congressional Savings and Ownership Caucus and cohosted by AARP, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, CFED, the National Disability Institute, the Retirement Security Project, the Shriver Center, and the World Institute on Disability.

For more information, contact Dory Rand at 312.368.2007. Click here to see a video of the event.