Just had a client call up in a panic (she had been listening to Rush Limbaugh, so no surprise).  She told us the government was taking people’s 401ks and that she needed to meet immediately (note: client has an IRA only) to see what she could do to protect herself.  Anyway…you can imagine the rest of the conversation…

More importantly, I found some links to the actual source of these “rumors” or suggestions

1) Teresa Ghilarducci’s Shared Prosperity site (talks about why 401ks are broken, and an alternative, known as the Guaranteed Retirement Account, GRA): 
http://www.sharedprosperity.org/bp204.html

2) The actual testimony of her suggestions to the Committee of Education and Labor:
http://www.house.gov/ed_workforce/testimony/2008-10-07-TeresaGhilarducci.pdf

Also, just so everyone knows, no legislative proposals have been introduced on this issue. Congress
is out of session until next year. Of the five people who testified
before the committee on October 7th, only Professor Ghilarducci
proposed a detailed solution instead of general policy advice.

Please, stop the drama.