Asset Building Movement

The asset building movement has grown rapidly over the past 20 years. It is focused on increasing the financial security of working families through practical strategies and public policies that encourage low- and moderate-income people to save, invest, and preserve their financial assets. Asset poverty, not income poverty, is a true measure of poverty in the United States. Asset poverty is defined as insufficient net worth (including savings, home equity, and other investments) to survive for 3 months without income at the federal poverty level. The federal income poverty rate is 12.7 percent, but the asset poverty rate in the United States is 25.5 percent.

The gap in wealth is most pronounced among people of color and women. Assets, much more than income, are distributed unevenly ...