The plan will also:
- Automatically invest savings in an appropriate target-date fund and provide savers with prudent alternatives, modeled on the Thrift Savings Plan for government workers.
- Automatically enroll savers in a low-cost, inflation-indexed annuity at retirement age.
- Allow savers to consolidate all of their retirement savings in one public-option account.
- Designate a small part of the accounts as an emergency fund, which savers can tap without penalty to meet short-term needs.
Bloomberg also said he wants to enhance Medicare and Medicaid, by limiting out-of-pocket drug costs, extending coverage to dental and other services and developing a new federal safety-net to insure against catastrophic costs of long-term care.
Bloomberg’s 19% showing in the NPR poll against Sanders’ 31% is noteworthy, given he officially kicked off his campaign in November, a full year after most other candidates.
The fact that Bloomberg has qualified for Wednesday’s Democrat debate in Las Vegas has also taken on far greater importance as candidates view the face-off as the last opportunity to shift voter views before Saturday’s statewide caucuses.
With Sanders surging and Bloomberg taking a strong second, the new poll showed other Democrat candidates falling behind: Former Vice President Joe Biden garnered just 15%, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) 12%, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) 9%, and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg 8%.