Welcome to The Next Egg

America's retirement system is broken.

There's $44 trillion in US retirement accounts, and it's mostly locked up in Wall Street mutual funds, pension funds, and insurance funds that subsidize extractive multinational corporations and build wealth for the already ultra wealthy.

Where The Next Egg began: We launched in 2019 as a collaboration between the Sustainable Economies Law Center, LIFT Economy, and Michael Shuman. Our goal was and still is to give people the power to self-direct their 401(k)s and IRAs, so that we can invest our money in building vibrant communities. In 2022 we hosted a series of events that deepened our collective understanding of what is broken about retirement in the US. We share resources, engage a community of peers for shared learning and mutual support, and share resources around relevant financial products for our members. By joining The Next Egg, you can access our past resources, conversations, and webinars. 

We are now a project of LIFT Economy. You can read more about some of the ways we are challening cultural notions of retirement here. We invite you to join the broader Next Egg network if you are interested in creating a liveable future for all, with no one left out.

In this community, we explore questions like:

• Can We Imagine A World Where Personal Security Doesn't Require Individual Savings? 
• What IS Retirement Anyway? 

Become a member of The Next Egg to access our recorded webinars:

Digging Into Self-Directed Retirement Savings Options

On Self-Directed IRA Custodians

Anatomy of a Solo 401(k): What's inside a plan document?

Financial Planning Basics for DIY Community Investors

Community Investment Funds: A New How-To Guide for Building Local Wealth, Equity, and Justice

How We Created A Worker-Controlled 401(k)

Invest in Humans Now: How to lend your retirement savings to friends, family, yourself, and other humans in your community

The 12 Best Local Investments—and 8 Ways You Can Find Them, with Michael Shuman

On Coop Investment Clubs

On Investment Cooperatives, with Blake Jones of Kachuwa Impact Fund 

On Grassroots Fundraising

In an Eggshell: A series of 20-minute, 101-level videos to help you get the basics:
How to Borrow From Your Existing 401(k) or 403(b)
Solo 401(k)s
Self-Directed IRAs
Rollovers
Investor Policy Statements
Prohibited Transactions 101

Who We Are:

Our core team includes Erin Axelrod of LIFT Economy, with additional support from Kevin Bayuk.  

With gratitude to our supporters:

In addition to becoming a member to sustain our work, you can also make a charitable gift to support our long-term success. Email [email protected] for more information.