In April, the personal savings rate—the percentage of disposable income that people don’t spend—went up to 3.6%. That’s higher than it was in March (3.1%), but still far lower than many economist types were predicting this time last year. Back in early 2009, there was talk that thanks to the Great Recession Americans were embarking on a newfound era of thrift. The savings rate was supposed to hit 8%, or even 10%.
TIAA-CREF isn’t giving up on the idea yet. The asset manager is running a contest to see what ideas people can come up with for raising the savings rate to 10% over the next two years. Perhaps a new government policy? Or a social business? What about an online savings tool? The pay-out is as eye-catching as the ambition. The grand prize winner gets $50,000 and a trip to South by Southwest (I’m guessing because TIAA-CREF’s big target here is college students).
Of course, for TIAA-CREF this is a marketing campaign. I love how to enter you have to let the company access your Facebook account, including your profile information, photos, friends’ information, etc. It’s never too early to get your hooks into a new cohort of customers start saving for retirement!
Nonetheless, I am very curious to see what people come up with. The contest ends July 20.