In a few weeks, on December 15th, a little known but important document will be released: the annual Financial Report of the U.S. Government. Just like publicly traded corporations, the U.S. Government is audited, and the results are made public. They’re even signed by the Secretary of the Treasury.

You’ve probably never heard of the audit report and may be wondering why. It’s not an accident.
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The presidential election isn't the only election that will take place on Tuesday.

House and Senate races can be even more important when it comes to the critical issues that will shape future retirees' lives.
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To be sure, 401(k) plans are not a “be-all-and-end-all.” Their biggest drawback is that they do not guarantee any specific monthly income. Since they are simply tax-favored investment plans, they can go up or down depending on what the money is invested in.

Law Professor Richard L. Kaplan has taken this inherent aspect of all investments and has, in his own mind, turned it into a “flaw”—a flaw so serious that he has floated a proposal that, if implemented, would mean the end of 401(k) plans altogether.
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AAFR has repeatedly warned against Social Security "privatization" schemes, which are usually floated by Republicans. But some Democrats, too, want to get their hands on future retirees' money. How? By taxing, confiscating, or otherwise monkeying with the trillions of dollars currently invested in 401(k) plans.
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The ongoing stock market crash has wiped out literally trillions of dollars of wealth. Few Americans, from the richest to the poorest, have escaped unscathed.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking losses are being suffered by retirees and pre-retirees. Millions people in, or on the brink of, their golden years, have suddenly found themselves much poorer than they imagined. Some have had to postpone retirement. Others, already in it, have been forced to drastically reduce their standards of living.

Their suffering provides a graphic reminder of the importance of preserving Social Security as it exists today: as a defined-benefit, not a defined-contribution plan. Yet so-called "privatization" proposals would invariably do just that.
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