Obama Administration Plugs Retirement Savings Programs

President Obama on Monday announced a new regulation to help people, including a famed liberal Supreme Court justice, save for retirement.

Under the new directive, retirement savings plans created by states will be allowed to move forward. Those plans, which are federally regulated, will operate under a safe harbor and won't be disrupted by federal law.

"If every state did this, tens of millions more Americans could save for retirement at work," Obama said during a speech at the White House's Conference on Aging, a summit held once every decade since the 1960s.

Talking about some of the country's most prominent older Americans, Obama name-checked the oldest and "toughest" member of the Supreme Court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, calling her the popular nickname "the notorious RBG."

Three states have passed legislation to create their own retirement savings programs, and the trend is on the upswing: More than 20 states are considering similar proposals. The Labor Department is set to propose a regulation by the end of the year to clarify how states can create the plans.

"We want to do everything we can to encourage more states to take this step," Obama said.

He also announced a plan modernize the rules that nursing homes must follow to get Medicare and Medicaid payments, as well as a push to "train more prosecutors in how to combat elder abuse."