The White House announced four initiatives to encourage individual and family savings.  The initiatives are simple, small steps to make it easier for families to expand their savings in preparation for retirement. The new policies are targeted specifically at the nearly 78 million Americans who do not maintain savings accounts through their employer.  The policies are consistent with behavioral economic theory and the ideas set forth by Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler in Nudge.  Sunstein is President Obama's "Regulatory Czar."

The policy seeks to a) encourage increased family savings; b) simplify the process of saving for retirement; and c) expand the number of options available for savers.  The purpose is not to add new regulations or mandate expanded savings; rather, it is to encourage savings by making it easier for families to save.

In order to expand enrollment in 401(k) retirement savings plans, the IRS will make it simpler for companies to automatically enroll their employees in 401(k) plans. Moreover, the IRS and Treasury will publish information on methods to increase individual saving over time, including employee commitments to save a percentage of future pay increases. Moreover, the IRS and Treasury provide new information to assist small businesses in automatically enrolling employees in portable SIMPLE-IRA accounts.

The White House proposals do not require Congressional approval.  Instead, they are enacted through IRS and Treasury rulings that set departmental policy.  The plan expands the Savers Tax Credit, costing the government significant tax revenues.