With only home equity generating more wealth for households in America, retirement savings are an essential component of retirement security, financial resilience, and wealth creation. As we work towards a future with universal, funded retirement savings accounts, the Saver’s Match, a provision within the 2022 SECURE 2.0 Act, offers a way to add meaningful sums to retirement savings accounts for households with lower incomes.
The Saver’s Match
In 2027, the Saver’s Match will replace the Saver’s Credit, a policy initially enacted in 2001 and made permanent in 2006. Instead of functioning as a standard tax credit, the Saver’s Match is a federal matching contribution that will be deposited into a taxpayer’s retirement account. The Saver’s Match will still be income-limited like the credit, but it will be fully refundable, meaning it will be paid even if a worker does not have any tax liability.
The Opportunity Ahead
There are 69 million Americans eligible by income to receive the Saver’s Match, and 22 million of those already hold accounts eligible to receive the matching funds. However, implementing the Saver’s Match is not straightforward, and neither is ensuring that eligible people are prepared to take advantage of this opportunity to have new money invested into retirement accounts.
While experts in government and industry are focused on solving the complex operational challenges, successful implementation will require significant effort and problem solving from leaders across all sectors—including financial services providers, nonprofits, advocacy groups, government leaders, tax preparers, and more.
- The Aspen Institute Financial Security Program is hosting periodic virtual Saver’s Match Learning Conversations with cross-sector leaders to discuss how the Saver’s Match can create economic opportunity for their constituencies and clients. Email Kara.Watkins@aspeninstitute.org to join a future virtual conversation.
- The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS are seeking input for the Saver’s Match to reach its full potential and improve retirement readiness of low- to moderate- income households. If you or your organization would like to submit comments on the Saver’s Match, you may do so by November 4, 2024.
