Universal Savings Accounts

The federal government instituted Universal Savings Account (USAs) to encourage people to save. First proposed in 1999 when the government ran a budget surplus, the accounts were intended to be tax-favored savings vehicles. Individuals would be allowed to invest the savings in stocks, bonds, and other investment vehicles, inside the account, similar to Individual Retirement Accounts that millions of Americans are familiar with.

In 2009, the administration reintroduced the idea of Universal Savings Accounts. They have not been instituted, have not got through Congress, and indeed have not even come close to going through Congress as of Spring 2009.