What was going on when I was born?

The already attractive features of Individual Retirement Accounts and the Keogh retirement plans for self- employed workers have been enhanced this year. For Americans putting money aside for their retirement, the changes will provide opportunities for even bigger tax deductions on 1984 returns. Taxpayers will find that custodial fees charged by financial institutions to manage I.R.A. and Keogh plans are now eligible for a tax deduction. And self-employed workers will find the contribution limits on Keogh plans have been sharply increased.

In an optimistic assessment of the economy's performance over the last four years, President Reagan urged Congress today to press on with his goals of less government and sustained growth by enacting his new budget and continuing the programs he began in his first term. In the President's annual Economic Report, presented to Congress today, Mr. Reagan wrote, ''With conviction in our principles, with patience and hard work, we restored the economy to a a condition of healthy growth without substantial inflation.'' The document devoted special attention to the economic status of the elderly, noting that largely because of increases in Social Security benefits couples who are 65 and older are, on average, more financially secure than the rest of the population. ''Several significant problems remain to be addressed,'' the President said, and he singled out the Federal Reserve Board, which he faulted as having contributed to the severity of the 1981-82 recession and the recent slowdown in the economy.

As buyers continue to switch to larger and more expensive cars, the auto makers are turning to a variety of incentives to promote slower-selling small models. Since the first of the year, they have introduced incentives ranging from cut-rate financing to optional equipment thrown in at no extra charge. There are also incentives for light pickup trucks, where the market is competitive and the companies are fighting to maintain market share.

A report in the Company News column of Business Day yesterday misstated the price of a mortgage banking unit being sold by Wells Fargo & Company. It is $108 million.

IN principle, hearty dishes call for hearty wines. Paired with a braised beef or a lamb stew, an older Bordeaux can easily lose its nuances, while some of the lighter Burgundies will lose their taste altogether, so overwhelming is the one-pot meal. What is needed, then, are wines that are assertive and uncomplicated. To answer this need, Americans could choose among any number of California wines, New York wines, Spanish wines or Italian wines. The dishes offered here, however, are essentially French. Let the wines, then, be French, too.

The illegal demolition of four buildings on West 44th Street three weeks ago brought to midtown a problem of enforcement that has plagued city officials for six years. The problem, city officials say, involves a string of seven or eight Brooklyn-based companies owned in various combinations by three brothers who have been cited scores of times for illegally dumping construction wastes and other offenses. Although Santitation Department police have issued summonses, impounded vehicles and conducted a round-the-clock stake-out of the companies' headquarters, the companies have continued to operate through what officials say have been a variety of ''cowboys and Indians'' manuevers. Officials say their problems in policing the companies are typical of the difficulties faced by relatively small enforcement units operating under by budget restraints and with limited penalties for what are often called ''quality of life'' violations. Sanitation officials accuse these companies of circumventing the law by engaging in late-night, back-road chases; radio monitoring of the department's stake-outs, and the buildup of what one sanitation official called ''one of the world's worst garbage heaps.''

The Senate Judiciary Committee today voted, basically along party lines, to approve the nomination of Edwin Meese 3d to be Attorney General. In the 12-to-6 vote, almost a year after the panel first began considering the nomination, all 10 Republican members gave their support to Mr. Meese, who has served since 1981 as President Reagan's counselor. Two of the panel's eight Democrats also voted to refer the nomination to the Senate. But one, Howell Heflin of Alabama, joined a Republican, Charles McC. Mathias Jr. of Maryland, in leaving open the possibility of opposing Mr. Meese's confirmation at that stage.

The United States said today that it was considering a range of retaliatory actions against New Zealand for its refusal to allow a Navy destroyer to make a port visit next month. The warship's visit was to have occurred at the conclusion of joint naval exercises by Australian, New Zealand and American forces. The State Department announced Monday that the maneuvers had been canceled. The Reagan Administration said a firm American response was needed, beyond calling off the maneuvers, to demonstrate that allies could not impose limits on the movements of American military forces and get off ''cost- free.''

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1985 International Retaliation against New Zealand for its refusal to allow a United States Navy destroyer to make a port visit next month is being considered by the Reagan Administration. Officials said a firm response was needed to show that allies could not impose limits on the movements of American military forces and get off ''cost- free.'' (Page A1, Column 1.) Hosni Mubarak criticized Israel, saying it had not been flexible enough in the search for peace. The Egyptian President also faulted the Israelis for not withdrawing their forces sooner from Lebanon. (A1:1-3.) National

Madeline Pober is a New York writer with a special interest in cultural anthropology. FOOD isn't what it used to be. This thought was brought home to us one Sunday during meal deliberations that were beginning to assume the complexities of major research. Should we try the serious Italian restaurant with its starched white linens and traditional floral bouquets, walk up the street to the bare-wood Sichuan room or go around the corner to the muted-sand, upscale Mexican place and be greeted by an explosion of lilies, dogwood and peonies? Across the street was the nouvelle bistro (orchid clusters). Within 10 blocks beckoned three Japanese restaurants, four Hunan, three down-home Mexican, sidewalk- cafe chili, Thai, Cuban, French, four Italian - one serving pasta on cute checked tablecloths, another going northern amid sleek gray moderne - plus over a dozen polished-wood and etched-glass saloons with fake flowers and omnibus menus of pasta, chicken gai yang, fillet of sole almondine and hamburgers.

David A. Stockman, the budget director, today called the military pension system a ''scandal,'' saying the military would put its pensions ahead of national security. ''Institutional forces in the military,'' he said, ''are more concerned about protecting their retirement benefits than they are about protecting the security of the American people. When push comes to shove, they'll give up on security before they'll give up on retirement.'' Relief for Farmers Attacked Mr. Stockman told the Senate Budget Committee that rather than slowing the rise in the President's proposed military budget to reduce the deficit, Congress should move to curtail the military pension program, which is projected to cost $17.8 billion in 1986, up from $7.3 billion in 1976.

President Hosni Mubarak accused Israel today of not being flexibile enough in the search for peace. He also criticized the Israelis for not withdrawing immediately from Lebanon. The Egyptian leader had not, since Prime Minister Shimon Peres took office in September, offered such a sweeping expression of dissatisfaction with Israel's efforts to improve diplomatic ties. Mr. Mubarak was responding to statements by Mr. Peres, who criticized Egypt's peace policies Monday in Jerusalem. Mr. Peres, speaking in an interview, expressed disappointment, also for the first time publicly, at what he described as Egypt's failure to respond to his efforts to improve relations between the two countries.