Is Obama going to ruin your retirement?

When Obama announced his plans for the 2016 fiscal year budget, he announced a number of changes to some retirement planning tools. The proposal would mean high-income earners would not be able to use tax strategies once used to contribute to Roth IRAs or maximize the tax benefits on inherited IRAs. Currently, in order to contribute to a Roth IRA, you must earn, as an individual, under $131,000, or a combined income of $193,000 for a married couple. Earners above this threshold have circumvented the limitation by making nondeductible contributions to a traditional IRA and later converting it to a Roth IRA.
Obama also suggested a cap on contributions to tax-deferred retirement plans like 401ks and IRAs.  The proposed contribution limits would cap the overall value of the account at $3.5 million, leaving retirees with an expected $210,000 a year to support themselves in retirement.

Economists have said that the proposal was unlikely to deliver on its intended effects--generating more tax revenue and encouraging middle class savings. This led some political commentators, like Dennis Byrne to criticize the proposal as a political attack on the wealthy to appease middle and working class voters;
"In other words, it's another pointless effort by the progressive Obama to show how much he dislikes the rich and that he's going to show them. So, there." 

An interesting take. Whatever Obama's true motivation behind the change to retirement plan contribution limits is, it probably doesn't matter because Obama's budget proposal is just that: a proposal. The Republican Senate is going to rip his proposal to shreds. Stay tuned for updates as Congress makes amendments and cross your fingers we don't have another sequester!