Retiring from active life calls for a huge emotional, mental and psychological shift! For one, age is not on your side. For another this is the time when one is more likely to have physical problems and not be as physically fit as in one’s youth. Yet, it is only half the population of Americans who have any kind of retirement plan. One of President Obama’s economic plans deals with getting people to save, and one of the methods proposed is the Individual Retirement Arrangement or the IRA.

In President Obama’s budget for 2010, employers will be required to enroll all their workers in the IRA. This is a retirement plan account, and allows for tax advantages on retirement savings. For example, there is a 50% match on the first $1000 of retirement savings if the family earns less than $65,000. It is also fully refundable. Employees may opt out of they wish. The options for saving are in the form of bonds, stocks, cash, or a new government bond, the R-bond. What finance experts believe is that once Americans begin saving, they will become investors. There are arguments both for and against the IRA, but as a beginning, it cannot be faulted. It is important for people to live with dignity in their retirement.