How will Obama's new myRA retirement plan work?

In his State of the Union address, the president proposed a new way for Americans to create a nest egg. There are some catches.

Obama myRA
(Image credit: (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images))

There weren't a lot of surprises in President Obama's State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. Some commentators were unprepared for Obama's fairly robust defense of the Affordable Care Act and the modesty of his "go it alone" executive orders. Most people found his tribute to Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg, a badly wounded Army Ranger, unexpectedly moving. But I don't think anyone was expecting the myRA.

In the middle of the address, after a section about raising the minimum wage, Obama said he will "direct the Treasury to create a new way for working Americans to start their own retirement savings: MyRA," which he described as "a new savings bond that encourages folks to build a nest egg." He elaborated:

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.