 Hello everybody. I am nice to see many of you. I've worked with many of you in the past, which is very true including Dave And you will forgive me for my clunkiness I have just hit the point in life where I realize I need to wear reading glasses Especially when material is a little far away. So forgive me for Any sort of advertent clunkiness as I talk through the things that I want to share with you today It is a pleasure to be with you And these are topics that are and have been for many years Personal priorities for the work that I've been doing But before I dive into this I want to thank Dave and his many colleagues it into it who we have been working with For at least three years on a variety of topics including savings, but also student loans Income-based repayment plan options. I want to thank Mikhail and her team For working with us really diving into some of the research that I'll talk about with respect to savings And promoting savings through tax time I want to thank Reid who I've been sitting up here an old colleague of mine at New America for hosting this event and Really helping to push really push us Inside our outside policy to just recognize how important it is that we're thinking about building the savings Opportunities not just for the short term, which is I know where a lot of us are very focused But really making sure that we're building the savings opportunities for the long term The gentleman who spoke up earlier. I think made some really important Comments about the wealth inequality and the income inequality and how how I think about it I tend to focus a lot on plumbing issues. How are we making sure that we have plumbing that enables especially our low-income families? Across the country to get the opportunities to build savings and build wealth for the long term So a few things I want to cover with you today and apologies for others who I should be thanking, but I have not the few things that I want to talk about with you today are the work that we have been doing at the Treasury Department and what is a Frankly one of the Treasury Department's top priorities This year and it has been work that I've been involved with for a number of years and that is really around financial access and Financial inclusion. I also want to talk about some of the policy priorities that we have put into the budget Focused on financial inclusion, but also building savings and long-term retirement opportunities And then I want to talk specifically about get right into the meat of what you've been hearing a number of people Allude to or refer to and that is our my array product So let me start with financial inclusion Secretary Liu has made financial inclusion one of our top priorities for 2016 We are really redoubling our efforts in this area Beginning with a conference that we co-hosted with some of you who participated in this room back in December We through that conference that we co-hosted with some of you and as well as USAID are really trying to Use our ability to push the financial services sector to make sure that millions of families have access to Basic financial products and services to help them manage their day-to-day lives as well as to reach their aspirations for the long-term for themselves and their families With that conference we had in leaders from government all over the globe The private sector and nonprofits who were sharing a variety of ideas and approaches For bringing safe and affordable products and services to people all over the globe Those recommendations are helping to inform our work in financial inclusion This year and we do hope that they will continue to inform the work of the Treasury Department and other governments and agencies going forward The fact is financial products, whether it's a transaction account a savings account Credit or an investment opportunity are really the important tools for allowing people to participate in our economy a Financially inclusive marketplace where everyone is able to access those products is critical to mobile ability economic mobility Financial inclusion facilitates human capital development. It creates small business investment and it drives broad middle-class growth Each of these areas is a cornerstone for a healthy and vibrant economy Globally, there is significant commitment to expand financial access again safe and affordable products Among policymakers standard setters the G20 as well as the many financial regulators across the globe As such we think there is real momentum for pushing for innovation by the public and private sector to develop market goods To develop and market financial products and services that can reach the needs of the millions of financially underserved As discussed at our forum in December, we are now in a better position than ever Thanks to technology Thanks to the use of data and the availability of data as well as new business models and new entities Non-banks Technology companies who frankly are helping to make real headway in our financial inclusion efforts Technology-enabled channels like online financial access Mobile money in the global context and these new entities who are engaging in Retail financial services have the potential we believe to bring consumers Greater access to services to better meet their needs again the day-to-day needs as well as their long-term aspirations I think 2016 is going to be an energizing time for this work My office and many offices across the Treasury Department from our office of terrorism financing when you think about Access to accounts and the challenges in terms of IDs that are required to open accounts to our international affairs Department are all committed to making some headway in this area As part of our financial inclusion efforts the administration recently proposed a set of new Initiatives in the fiscal year 2017 budget that was announced earlier this month And you heard congressman Serrano mentioned one of them and that was our our new fund a hundred million dollar fund for a new Treasury-led financial innovation for working families fund Building on the success that we have had with our existing innovation fund and some of you are actually Undertaking some of the projects that we are funding With that initiative we are looking to expand it and to encourage more private sector efforts to develop and pilot new strategies as well as new products to help families and Individuals manage those unexpected financial challenges If appropriated the new fund will support new financial products and strategies to better help consumers cope with unexpected income shocks financial volatility and ultimately the need for rainy-day fund Another important proposal that was included in the budget is a $3.5 billion expansion of the Department of Labor's programs to connect young people with high-quality employment opportunities The proposal will help nearly one million young people get into their first job Throughout the summer through the summer opera employment opportunities, and it will help another hundred and fifty Thousand young people who have been out of school and out of work access paid work As part of this initiative Treasury will coordinate with labor So the participating young people will get an account into which they can receive their paychecks Without unnecessary costs associated with it as well as with money management skills and training opportunities We at Treasury are already working with civic leaders and local organizations as well as national organizations Like the Cities for Financial Empowerment to focus on youth employment and connecting young workers with safe and affordable financial products Just last week acting Assistant Secretary Emmaus Garrity met with the LMA or another local organizations that are conducting important work in this area We also in the budget included a proposal We also included funding a funding proposal to create a safe alternative For small-dollar credit needs This is a ten million dollar proposal for a loan loss reserve fund program That will enable CDFI's to build safe and affordable small-dollar credit options for the individuals that they serve So these and other initiatives will enable Treasury and other federal agencies We believe to help move the needle in terms of providing access to what are affordable and safe financial products and services So now we're here to talk about tax time I want to talk a bit about the MyRA product Which is our relatively new product that we launched at the end of last year That is intended to be helping many of the families who we've been talking about in today's conversations Access a safe affordable Principal protected Savings opportunity to help them begin to build savings for the long term MyRA is an online starter retirement savings account With the flexibility that comes with being designed as a Roth IRA MyRA account holders are able to begin saving for retirement as with any Roth IRA They can access the money they put into the account When needed such as for emergencies and other needs without the penalties typically associated with taking withdrawing those types of monies from investment accounts as you all know well too many Americans have struggled to save not only for the short time for the short term but also for longer term retirement needs and In fact according to the Federal Reserve Board 31% of non-retired Americans have no retirement savings at all and People with inadequate savings are disproportionately younger lower income women and people of color Perhaps the largest barrier to retirement savings is that tens of millions of American workers lack access to workplace sponsored retirement plans a Recent study by Pew found that 42% of workers don't have access to a retirement plan through the workplace The picture is even more troubling as many of you realize for part-time and lower-income workers BLS reported that 63% of part-time Private sector workers have no way to save for retirement through the workplace and only 19% of those with part-time jobs Actually participated in the workplace plans when they were offered Given these challenges and the barriers to retirement savings We have set about over the past few years to design and and we have recently launched the my array account With an eye towards making it possible for more workers to begin saving So I'm going to tick through some of the aspects of the my array which we think and I'm looking forward to hearing your feedback about this I've heard some of it already and looking forward to hearing more but which we think make the my array Especially accessible and appealing to many low and moderate-income families across the country First of all, it is simple Individuals can enroll online in a matter of minutes. They can contribute automatically every payday From not only payroll deduction if they set that up But also from the ability to transfer monies into the my array from an existing account bank account or credit union contributions from their paycheck paychecks Can be contributed from multiple employers so individuals who are working for multiple employers can be routing their resources Or some of their earnings into the my array It does not have to be tied to just one particular employer and at tax time They can give their my array account a boost by saving some or all of that tax refund It's also safe The my array balance carries no risk of losing money and the investment earns interest and is backed by the u.s. Treasury and Since my array is a Roth IRA Savers can withdraw their contributions without the taxes or penalties and Finally, it's affordable There are no cost and no fees to open the my array to maintain the my array or to close the my array Or to roll it over There are no minimum account balances or contribution requirements And so we we have seen individuals participating in the my array account contributing as little as ten dollars a month or ten dollars a paycheck But we also know my array alone can't solve our nation's retirement challenges It does provide though a simple safe and affordable way for people to start to build that savings and to build it for the long term We also know that that this is a hard market to tap into and it's a hard challenge to get in front of the target Individuals who we'd like to see participating in a my array and that's why we think about tax time as being a really prime opportunity To convey the opportunity and the benefits of the product We've been working to get the word out about my array Particularly at key moments when people have the opportunity to make a savings decision And that is when they have resources in hand and can make that contribution to the account And as such we've been doing a lot of work to make my array a part of the tax time experience And I want to thank you all those of you who've been marketing my array and sharing information about the product Especially through the Vita programs We've been very fortunate that the Center for Social Development Into it and Duke University have been collaborating with us on designing and testing ways To embed my array into the tax filing experience and to really try to motivate and find ways to Encourage individuals to open and save in a my array at tax time Over the past two years CSD has added my array to its core refund to savings research Mikhail and her team have designed and administered several experiments for us Which is helping us become wiser in terms of how we are marketing and driving participation in the account CSD has added a series of retirement savings questions to their household financial survey to learn more about tax filers Perceptions and practices around saving for retirement and their interest in and the individual's interest in a flexible starter account like a my array Starting last fall and continuing into the current tax season CSD and into it have tested messages and delivery methods for motivating Filers to learn more about the my array to open the account and to direct to deposit their refund or a portion of it into the account CSD is helping Treasury Testing the effectiveness of sending messages via email and you heard Dave reference What matters in terms of when individuals receive emails do they open it and they've been to embedding information directly Into testing the embedding of information directly into tax software And we are testing the impacts of different my array messages to determine how to motivate tax filers For example, we've tested messages that present my array as a simple safe and affordable and free Retirement account and we tested other messages that highlight the flexible rules that allow savers to access their my array savings when it's needed and Among the most interesting strategies being tested encourages filers to open and save in their my array and it messages around how that savings could help them become eligible for claiming the savers credit and Thus reducing their tax liability or essentially increasing the amount of their tax refund That research is underway now and I am being careful not to get ahead of the research Team and discussing the findings. However, I can tell you the insights that we are gleaning from the CSD's research Is invaluable to how we are mapping out our next steps with the my array product? CSD's tax time research is helping us better understand the potential for tax time funding And it's also raising our awareness of the need for more strong research and examination of the promises and the means of Marketing and driving participation in the my array accounts. I know many of you have suggestions and ideas for helping to make my array more Available at tax time and I'm looking forward to hearing those We are looking forward to continuing to work with the Vita community as well as the professional tax preparers To leverage that tax time moment to drive savings in this type of an account So in closing I want to stress again that Treasury is fully focused on financial inclusion And we plan to make headway on this topic over the remainder of the administration The president's recent budget proposals include important initiatives that we think can help to move the needle as Will our work on my array and retirement savings? There is no doubt about it tax time We all recognize this is a powerful opportunity to help families manage their expenses Save and build their financial assets for the long term Opportunities such as this refund to savings event We know are critical for sharing information learning from each other and Incorporating that into whether it's product design or policy design So thank you all for coming together and for the sponsors for sponsoring this event I'm happy to take a few questions and also hear some feedback about my array or other topics not a one How many of you in the room have been marketing or informing others about my array at tax time those of you who were Thank You Gail at CFPB very important partners to us So I should back up how many of you are familiar with my array Okay, so why aren't you marketing at tax time? No genuinely Failure to communicate I see some folks showing up with questions. So looking forward to getting them Good afternoon. I'm Jamelea Abranson with the university neighborhood housing program, and we are a vital site We've been promoting my array to tax filers and more generally to our Participants in our other programs financial coaching workshops Small business owner daycare providers, but I have a question as far as like enrolling participants And making sure that if their employer already offers something similar a 401k or 403b Can they participate in my array or their limitations with that? and How to help them overcome those issues because my array is very simple But then the the product they may already have is not as simple So we want to make sure that they can have the option of both. That's a great question and thank you for asking it We want to make it very clear in our messages and hopefully the messages That you all are conveying to individuals that participating in an employer-sponsored Employer-offered plan which may often come with a match to those contributions is is a real Opportunity for really sort of building your long-term savings of retirement nest egg There is no prohibition. However for somebody who Wants to open a my array and who already has an employer-sponsored plan to Participate in the my array you can't participate in both and You can imagine circumstances if somebody has the resources to contribute to both plans or both products to take advantage Of the my array because of the flexibility that comes with a Roth structure So for instance when we were building out the my array I have to say are we still have press in the room because I really I think it's helpful to have these conversations But I also want to be careful about how much I offer up But when we were building out the my array and thinking about how we were going to market it and What was the real need and the opportunity we talked with many large employers? This is over the past couple of years Who have retirement plans those plans may or may not have been available? especially for the part-time employees or for the individuals who may be in that one year sort of Employments period before they're eligible to participate in the in the retirement plan that the employer offers What we did here in those conversations with those employers however was that they were seeing a lot of their employees All the way up the income Spectrum basically making hardship withdrawals and Taking out loans against those retirement plan opportunities, and there are real costs associated with that So you can imagine how if someone has a resources to continue to participate in maximize that match from the employer But then also has the my array opportunity, which has more flexibility So long as you're only withdrawing your contributions that that could be a way to essentially help to protect that longer-term retirement option for People who have that opportunity so you can participate in both, but it sounds like you are smartly being cautious about how you're coaching people To make sure they're taking advantage of the employer option Good afternoon. So this is similar to the topic about capitalizing on that moment when the person comes in. Yeah This is more of a I guess a vital question, but on the tax-wise program when we're entering things in vita. Yeah We asked them if they want to do direct deposit into an account if they'd like to open an IRA or something like that and Dave I believe mentioned in into it being able to split your allotments of your refund into different accounts Is treasury maybe not where you are but in IRS looking at maybe finessing tax-wise in a way that we could Deposit some of the refund into their savings some into that checking and maybe some into something like my alright great question we have Modified the instructions around form 88 88 so that my array is recognized in those instructions It does not however get down to the specific where it I think it says help me here Dave It says savings account Doesn't say retirement account. It's just the savings are checking You have the three different allotment options. It doesn't say my array there, but the instructions themselves Should by the way, I haven't checked this myself, but we were working towards this In the instructions explain that my array is an option for splitting the refund as For embedding the ability to split and making it apparent in the tax software We are having conversations with the tax preparation industry about building in those options for essentially It would be seamless for the consumer or ideally seamless for the consumer But their ability to open the account literally as they are filing their taxes I think this may you may have already spoken to it, but what would you like to see is the what's it? Oh I'm Tim Flacke from D2D fund What's the ideal form of connection between my array and tax time? You know if you had full license is what you just described kind of where you would like it to end up Or do you have other plans at Treasury or fantasies about how it might be linked together? I think we are very excited about the opportunity to integrate my array into The tax filing process and you can see how that could happen a few different ways one is obviously the integration as I just talked about with the tax preparation software companies another would be a Probably a longer-term venture, but a back-end system where the ability is embedded in literally the filing process administered by the IRS But I think we will make significant headway, and I think for the consumer experience What percentage of consumers are using professional tax preparers? I mean it's 50 60 right exactly You Can imagine for them the consumer experience if we were to sufficiently cover the market in terms of commercial tax preparers many Including those who we care about and we're talking about today Would be getting that integrated experience and frankly wouldn't know the difference whether it was an IRS integration or the commercial tax preparation integration Okay Thank you all it's great to share what we're doing