Americans’ Views of State-Facilitated Retirement Programs

A national survey finds strong support for new state-facilitated retirement programs aimed at helping workers without employer-provided plans save for retirement.

Americans’ Views of State-Facilitated Retirement Programs finds:

• The vast majority of Americans (72 percent) agree that state-facilitated retirement programs are a good idea. There is high support across party and generational lines, with support highest among Millennials (78 percent).
• Three-quarters of Americans (75 percent) say they would participate in state-facilitated retirement programs, consistent across party and generational lines.
• Americans view many key features of state-facilitated retirement programs as highly favorable, especially portability (84 percent), higher returns (82 percent), and lower fees (82 percent).

These results come as most working Americans are not on track for a secure retirement. Half of U.S. households will not have enough retirement income to maintain their standard of living in retirement. The causes of the retirement savings crisis are many, including fewer pensions, lower Social Security income, and the rising costs of housing, healthcare, and long-term care. To help Americans lacking retirement plans at their workplace, many states have taken action, establishing state- facilitated retirement savings programs.

Conducted by Greenwald Research, information for this study was collected from interviews conducted between December 4–10, 2020, of 1,203 individuals aged 25 and older. The final data were weighted by age, gender, and income to reflect the demographics of Americans aged 25 and older.