Retirement Savings Plans | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

Retirement Savings Plans

September 2018 - December 2018

Summary

About half of workers—especially those who are low income or employed by small firms—lack access to a retirement savings plan through their employer. To address this issue, a growing number of states have proposed or begun implementing programs to provide access to workers whose employer does not offer a retirement plan. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is interested in learning more about recent developments in state efforts to expand coverage in retirement savings plans. For this project, students conducted internet searches and conducted in-depth case studies of 2-3 states to provide an update of the current status of state efforts to expand coverage, summarized characteristics of state efforts, and assessed potential benefits and challenges facing state efforts, including potential legal uncertainty and implementation challenges.

Community partner

Government Accountability Office