bloomberg national political reporter, michael bender. later, a discussion on climate change and clean energy standards with david kreutzer and dan weiss. ♪ host: good morning. from august into september, it is the last week of the congressional break before lawmakers return after labor day. the president, tomorrow, departs on a trip to alaska. we will be focusing on climate change. it also becomes the first sitting president to travel above the arctic circle. a new poll overnight shows more problems for the clinton campaign, as bernie sanders closes in on the democratic front runner. isis said that covers -- it

sunday, august 30. the larger question is your own personal savings when it comes to retirement. are you putting enough money aside for those so-called golden years. our phone lines are open. if you're aged 51 or older, the number to call is (202) 748-8000 . the number to call for those between 30 and 50 is (202) 748-8001. if you are 29 and younger, the number to call is (202) 745-8002 . you can also send us a tweet at @cspanwj. or send us a comment on our facebook page at facebook.com/cspan. you can also send us an e-mail at journal@c-span.org. good sunday morning to you. thank you very much for being with us. we will get your calls and commons in just a moment. first, we want to share with you one story related to all this from nbc news, pointing out that people understand the importance of saving for retirement, but their behavior does not match their intentions.

look at these figures. 86% agree that the nation faces a retirement crisis. three and four remain highly anxious about retirement. 82% tension is worth having -- .ension is worth having 87% say washington does not understand how hard it is to prepare for retirement. 84% say that washington needs to provide more help to ensure retirement plans. 87% believe that pensions are good for public employees. what does this mean for you? christian weller joins us on the phone with the national institute of retirement security. guest: thank you very much for having me. host: clearly americans are not saving enough, why? guest: to some degree, this is a problem of policy.

we have created a system where you have to make a lot of their own decisions, but we also don't offer them the necessary help. take for instance the tax breaks we are giving to people. the tax breaks amount to about $100 billion per year for saving for retirement. by and large, the lower middle income groups, people making $50,000 per year, don't get much from those benefits. they go largely to people who already have a lot of money, who make a lot of money, who work for an employer that offers attention. if you are self-employed, you don't get much help from the government. one of theart is best proven ways to save for retirement is if your employer offers a traditional pension or 401(k) plan. most people don't work for an

employer that offers that. that we have now is believe the of people are looking for their own do-it-yourself solutions to this retirement problem to save for retirement in addition to social security. once you are on your own, it becomes incredibly complicated because you must figure out what potential options you have. like an ira, or self-employment retirement plan, so on and so forth. money onceo with the i have it in an account? when do i with jolly? what kind of tax to i have to pay? cumbersomeincredibly . it is the taxes, the employment -based preferences, and complexity the often keep people from saving. host: of course, adding to the

uncertainty, what we saw on wall street the last 10 days. the market down one day 700 points, up 600 points, down another 150. experts predict it will continue on a roller coaster. guest: let me add, that makes the complexity worse. up see the screens bumping and down, and your advisor, or the websites you look at, say, buy should go by money -- money. most people are not stockbrokers or day traders. they have real jobs. people throw their hands and say, i will just stick it under the mattress, it is safer there. talk about age groups. those entering the workforce, between 21 and 29, what should they begin thinking about right now? guest: we have to live with that reality, right?

most of those people have to worry about finding their first job. many have to worry about repaying student loans, which have been rising. many have to worry about health insurance, and other things. the things that come with life. buying your first house, finding a mortgage. partement typically isn't of the landscape because other things in life stand in the way. that is part of the problem we face, individual choices. yout is individual choices, focus on what is directly in front of your face, instead of retirement. group,are in that age the advice is if your employer offers a retirement plan, make ine you participate that. if you are in the lower and moderate income troops, make sure you get all of the tax breaks. are not many, but there are

sound. it is called savers credit. that,ure you qualify for or if you do qualify, the you get it at the end of the year. there are things, but the most important thing is if your employer offers one, participate in the retirement plan. if your employer does not offer one, and you can put some money aside, try to save individually. host: we're talking with christian weller of the national institute of retirement security, and focusing in part on retirement because of what we have seen on wall street. let's talk about those on the other end of the spectrum. those who are between 55 and 68, preparing to retire were already retired. if they have not safe enough, any advice? guest: there is very little that you can reasonably advise people.

the best solutions are save more money and work longer. that one is particularly attractive. most people who are in that age group are already saving, doing to pay their bills and put money away for retirement. the other part is still a either longer, it is physically or mentally not possible for people who have not saved enough. often things went wrong in their lives, they didn't have the jobs they wanted, they didn't get the pay they wanted. so, they have struggled all their lives. it is hard to see how they will keep working longer, and continue to struggle. or, they may have a good job, but the employer just tries to push them out. yes, i understand, there are age discrimination rules, and the employer should not do this, but they have ways to make it difficult for people if they

don't want them anymore. the bad news is that there aren't many good solutions other than saving more, trying to work longer, delaying social security, taking social security as much as you can. the later you take social security, the higher your benefits will be. the combination of those things, i call it muddling through, winging it. a combination of those things -- putting a little bit more money away, cutting back on consumption where you can, basically pinching pennies -- not necessarily what people want, but what you may have to do, made you through retirement. , on: finally, do you know average, and clearly this varies based on where you live, but on

average, what do most americans have in retirement when they retire? guest: it is very difficult to say. probably around $20,000-$30,000 a year. again, it depends on who you are, if you're married, if you aren't married. retirement income has become much more unequal. there are much more people that are just on social security than in the past, and people who have fulfilled the dream of golden retirement. that is sort of the story of the last 30 years. our retirement system has really the world i retirement into those who can really travel, live on the golf course, have a nursing home care that they want, and the vast majority who can't. christian weller, who is with the national institute of retirement security, serving on the academic advisory board,

joining us on the phone the sunday morning. thank you. now, we want to hear from you. how are you preparing for retirement? writingomberg business, about the contagion in china, healthyhat the u.s. is enough to survive black monday, but will the rest of the world through china's well-being. tom is up first. how old are you, if i may ask? caller: 52. host: when will you retire, or plan to? caller: six or seven years. up, got a pretty good set but the market is horrible out there for people planning for long-term savings. people are losing money.

you, are youfor going to talk about the policeman that got murdered down in texas? host: that is a story that is getting a lot of attention as well, but we're going to focus on retirement. caller: i really hope you do, because you have focused so much on black lives matter, you should make sure the police officers get the same amount of airtime that black lies matters do. this is probably something that al sharpton -- black lives matter has made this guy do this. to be fair, you should have them on. what was the story you had on -- all the democrats and the katrina thing? host: that was the 10th anniversary of the katrina storm that hit the gulf coast. why do you call it a race baiting program? aller: oh my gosh, it's

democrats. you are blaming republicans for katrina, and you have that corrupt man down there -- corrupt mayor down there. commit crimes,ys a don't talk about it. be fair to everybody. host: thank you. appreciate the call. that is the purpose of this program, to hear from all of you. it was a memorial service that took place last night to pay tribute to that police officer that was shot and killed. ouratrina coverage -- katrina coverage included president george bush who was there on friday. we hope you check it out on c-span.org. on facebook, you can weigh in as well. sheridan is next from columbus,

ohio. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you so much for c-span. thank you for taking my call. let me tell you. brief history. march 1948, i was working working 20t a place, hours per week. my boss told me, if you work 30 hours, i will make you a full-time employee. i didn't, and he raised by the way per hour. raise my pay one dollar per hour. here is the problem, and i wish you would address it. , unless theyeople get 35 hours, and then it will get benefits. not hiding them -- they are not hiring them. they're hiring them for 28, 30 2, 34, but not 35 because the

companies are too cheap to get the benefits. i wish you fellas would address this situation. the people today don't understand what is going on. 2008han pons, after the bubble, he is a certified financial consultant. he was asked, what about the pensions? they are disappearing at the rate of 10,000 per month. host: do you have a pension? caller: no, sir. i did not take a pension when i retired. i was fortunate to take a lump i retired anden will do over to an ira. i'm not going to worry about the stock market because what goes out comes down. when i retired, i told my ,ertified financial consultant

fiscally, i am 200 miles to the right of ronald reagan. that's what i've got in my, what everyone to call it -- in my portfolio. $1350 per month on social security. host: thank you for the call. we appreciate it. on our twitter page, judy has i saved for-- retirement until i broke my back, then became savings for hospital bills. casey has this point saying, i am working. 85% of u.s.on says, citizens cannot afford to retire. next is bob from washington. go ahead, bob. we will try one more time.

ate inl go to n baltimore, maryland. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. i'm one of the older people who will call. i'm 88 march. i worked for a company for 12 years, and wound up getting a huge pension of $35 per year. company, -- own i then had my own company and was able to put money away in low risk stocks and bonds, that have paid nicely. then, i went to work for the government in management, and i re for 30 years, and received a very nice pension from them. i amlly, if you figure

augmented with medicare, and thank god, we are doing very well. until 1994, i said, and then i consulted for another 10 years. now, i am enjoying retirement. i hope everybody else is fortunate. host: thanks for the call from baltimore. if you're just tuning in, or listening in on c-span radio, we are focusing on retirement, and how you are preparing. aired a special committee on aging at retirement issues, in which someone said that many have to work longer because they are not preparing for retirement. [video clip] age is at an older becoming increasingly common. yes, some retirees have always

jobs, but what is different now is that today's baby boomers are either continuing to work much longer, or approaching work not as an afterthought, but as a pillar of their retirement plan. the numbers tell the story. in 1991, just 11% of workers expected to retire after age 65. today, more than three times that number expect to retire after age 65. 10% don't plan to retire. two thirds of workers say they plan to work for pay and retirement. here is the hitch. normal workers for a work and retirement, but a very small percentage do. working for pay, a few years

longer, to make a huge difference and financial security as we age. i suspect that one of the reasons people aren't continuing to work is that they can't find a job, and give up. host: the senate special committee on aging. is that your situation? are you working longer because you don't have enough to retire? edie is joining us from new york. how old are you, may i ask? caller: i'm 56 right now. host: how are you preparing for retirement? caller: i started working in the 1970's. when i started working, we had a lot of unions in buffalo. little, every good retirement package -- little by little, everything shut down. plants shut down. i wasally, i went into -- in the printing