Michael Hiltzik: The omnibus bill will help you save for retirement, though Wall Street will get its cut

The average American's path to retirement security has long been a steep uphill climb. The omnibus spending bill President Biden signed on Dec. 29 will make the journey easier.

The $1.7-billion bill will add access to workplace retirement plans for workers who haven't had many options and increase their incentives for funding workplace accounts, including through an unprecedented tax benefit.

The omnibus bill is far from perfect; many of its positive provisions fell short of advocates' hopes and expectations.

The measure includes a $785-million increase in the operating budget of the Social Security Administration, for example — but that's "just enough for SSA to tread water," as Max Richtman, chief executive of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, put it.

The appropriation won't allow the Social Security Administration to significantly reduce a huge backlog