Wyden Proposes $10 Million Cap on Retirement Accounts, Tightening Rules for Mega IRAs
Updated
Updated · IndexBox, Inc. · Aug 14
Wyden Proposes $10 Million Cap on Retirement Accounts, Tightening Rules for Mega IRAs
3 articles · Updated · IndexBox, Inc. · Aug 14
Summary
$10 million is the threshold in Sen. Ron Wyden’s new bill, which would block further contributions to retirement accounts above that level and require larger annual withdrawals from oversized balances.
32,000 taxpayers already hold more than $10 million in 401(k)s or IRAs, averaging $17 million each, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation; the richest 208 hold more than $85 billion combined.
40% of U.S. households have no tax-advantaged retirement savings at all, while median balances were just $3,000 for ages 25 to 55 and $10,000 for those 55 and older in 2019.
$2.2 trillion in retirement-tax breaks is projected for 2022-2026, with about 80% of those subsidies going to households earning more than $100,000, reinforcing criticism that the system favors the wealthy.
Wyden and Rep. Richard Neal cast the proposal as a reset of accounts originally designed for middle-class retirement security, not as tax shelters that can grow into nine-figure or even multibillion-dollar fortunes.