Richest 100 CEO Retirement Accounts Equal In Value To Those Of Bottom 40 Percent (VIDEO)

New research from the Institute of Policy Studies finds that the wealth contained in the retirement accounts of America’s 100 wealthiest CEOs is equivalent to the funds contained in the smallest 40 percent of retirement funds.

These CEO accounts – totaling $4.7 billion – are also equal to retirement funds of the bottom 44 percent of white working class households, 55 percent of female-headed households, 75 percent of Latino families, and 59 percent of African American families.

These CEOs have an average retirement fund of over $47 million – enough to earn $253,088 each month for the rest of their lives beyond the standard retirement age of 65. Average workers at the same retirement age, on the other hand, can look forward to pulling just $101 per month from their retirement savings of $18,433.

The new report is a troubling reminder that we’re living through a new Gilded Age. Sarah Anderson, coauthor of the report and director at the IPS Global Economy Project said:

“While slashing jobs and benefits for ordinary workers, CEOs of large companies have been feathering their own nests. It’s no wonder so many American workers are concerned about whether their golden years will be tarnished by financial stress.”

CEOs with the five largest retirement funds hailed from Progressive, NVR, Honeywell, McKesson, and Centene.

How Did We Get Here?

Why have CEO retirement accounts ballooned in recent years? As the report explains:

“This is not the result of executives working harder or investing more wisely. Instead, this gap is one more example of rule-rigging in favor of the 1%.”

Three sets of rules conspire to empower CEOs of big corporations to pad their retirement accounts. Pension rules qualify CEOs for special compensation accounts that don’t get taxed until the money is accessed. Compensation rules – under which CEOs earn more based on the price of the company’s stock – encourage them to reduce their workers’ retirement funds in order to save the company money. And tax rules allow CEOs to deduct large amounts from their federal income taxes under “performance-based” pay.

In other words, the more CEOs earn, the less they pay in taxes.

Trump And Corporate Money

The report is especially timely given the election of President-elect Donald Trump. Trump ran on promises to restore reliable working-class jobs – jobs that people could retire comfortably on. Despite the fact that the average Trump voter earned $72,000 per year – well above the median household income of $53,657 per year – Trump was able to tap into deep-seated economic insecurity to clinch the electoral vote.

But Trump, it appears, will do nothing to ensure Americans are more secure in retirement. According to IPS:

“If President-elect Donald Trump succeeds in cutting the top marginal tax rate from 39.6 percent to 33 percent, Fortune 500 CEOs would save $196 million on the income taxes they would owe if they withdrew their tax-deferred funds.”

Check out the video below to find out more about the most obscene CEO retirement accounts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxce3B5FaXs

Featured image via YouTube video.