Working for universal, secure, and adequate retirement

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. *Please note revised start time* *REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT HAS CLOSED*

Join experts from the Economic Policy Institute, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, and the Pension Rights Center for the launch of Retirement USA -- an initiative working for a new retirement system that, together with Social Security, will provide universal, secure, and adequate income for future retirees.  At this event, we will: • Unveil principles to serve as a framework for a new system; • Describe proposals and systems that illustrate these principles; • Release a white paper that documents the need for a new system; and • Invite others to join our effort. Refreshments will be provided. For additional information about this event, please contact info@retirement-usa.org

WHO:	Barbara Kennelly, President and CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare; former member of the U.S. House of Representatives
	Karen Ferguson, Director, Pension Rights Center
	Ross Eisenbrey, Vice President, Economic Policy Institute
	Maria Freese, Director of Government Relations and Policy, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
	Norman Stein, Senior Policy Advisor to the Pension Rights Center and Professor of Law, University of Alabama School of Law
WHAT:	Launch of the RETIREMENT USA initiative; announcement of principles for a new retirement system; release of a white paper.
WHERE:	National Press Club, Holeman Lounge
	529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor
	Washington, DC
WHEN:	Tuesday, March 10, 2009
	10:00 - 11:00 a.m.  *PLEASE NOTE THE NEW START TIME*
WHY:	Even before the current recession, retirement income security had become a major national concern, as companies increasingly shifted from traditional pensions to do-it-yourself savings plans.  In the past six months, the faltering stock market and dwindling 401(k) accounts have turned a major concern into a crisis, highlighting the weaknesses in our current system.  RETIREMENT USA came about as a response to the growing recognition that a new system -- one that is universal, secure, and adequate -- is needed.