The new American dream: Retirement security

The American dream has drawn millions to the “land of opportunity” and long encapsulated the idea that every citizen has the right to improve their lives. Yet, the current state of the U.S. retirement system may threaten the ability of some to fully achieve the American dream by ensuring their health and quality of life in retirement. The traditional three-legged stool of retirement—social security, pension, and retirement savings—is transforming into a wobbly one-legged stool, with personal savings and investment providing the only retirement security.

On October 16, the Center on Regulation and Markets at Brookings hosted Kara Stein, commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to give her perspective on how the SEC can best provide that assistance. Following Stein’s remarks, Brookings Senior Fellow Martin Baily joined her onstage for a discussion. After the discussion, Stein and Baily took questions from the audience.