Clearing a Path for State-based Retirement Plans

What’s the number one way that workers save for retirement? Job-based 401(k) plans, which provide a vehicle for workers to put aside pre-tax dollars that are often matched by their employers.

About one-third of American workers lack access to a retirement plan at work. While workers without access to a workplace plan can save on their own using an IRA, only a tiny fraction do so.

We’ve tried to address this problem at the federal level. Time and again, President Obama has proposed legislation that would automatically enroll new workers in an IRA if they lack access to a 401(k)-type plan through their employer. And time and again, Congress has failed to act. If the federal government can’t move the needle, then we have to do everything possible to encourage innovation that’s already happening at the state level.

– U.S. Department of Labor

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