56 million Americans don't have access to a retirement plan at work — and Social Security may not be enough to keep them afloat as they age
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- 56 million US workers lack employer-provided pension or retirement savings plans.
- A new AARP report highlights the financial insecurity facing workers without retirement plans.
- Those workers would likely have difficulty living solely off Social Security.
Many Americans don't feel ready for retirement — and their jobs aren't stepping in to fill in the economic gaps.
A new analysis from the AARP Public Policy Institute finds that, in 2022, 56 million Americans — nearly half of the private-sector workforce — worked for employers who didn't offer pension or retirement savings plans.
Workers with less education and lower earnings were less likely to have access to plans. Specifically, AARP said that about 75% of private-sector workers with less than a high school degree, 50% of workers with some college, and 31% of workers with a bachelor's degree do not have a retirement plan. On top of that, about 79% of workers earning $53,000 or less annually and 21% of workers earning over $53,000 do not have retirement plans.
David John, one of the AARP report's authors, told Business Insider that even while those workers would get Social Security benefits, they likely wouldn't be enough to supplement other expenses.
"The fact is that if you are a career lower-income individual, yes, Social Security is going to replace a higher proportion of your earnings, but you still have the emergencies that are going to come up," John said. "And that includes things like car repair, cost of medication, house repair — hot water heaters don't really care who you are at the time they decide to fail."
The AARP report said that, with the average Social Security benefit totaling around $1,767 a month in 2022, most retirees will need additional income sources to stay financially afloat.
"We have a substantial number of people who don't have sufficient retirement savings to supplement their Social Security. Social Security is it for a substantial number of people," John said. "And that means, essentially, that they may not have the kind of retirement that they dreamed of."
The report uses data from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey on employer coverage, which provides data on Americans' work, earnings, and education, and adjusts it by factoring in additional data from the Survey of Consumer Finances and IRS to bring the findings in line with the overall population, allowing the researchers to break out specific demographic groups.
Financial security remains a top concern for many older adults. A recent report from the Alliance for Lifetime Income's Retirement Income Institute found that in 2024, over 30 million Americans born between 1959 and 1964 — the tail end of the baby boomer generation — will start turning 65, meaning many of them will increasingly start to rely on retirement savings. Without a retirement plan, some previously told BI they would likely have to continue working to supplement their Social Security.
Some states have taken steps to aid workers who do not have access to retirement plans through their employers. California created a program in 2019 called CalSavers, which requires employers in the state who do not sponsor a retirement plan to provide individual retirement accounts that employees are automatically enrolled into unless they opt out. John said that some variation on that type of plan could work at the federal level.
"The basic model or the basic way the state programs are structured can be a guide to help create a national solution to the retirement coverage problem," he said.
The latest Social Security and Medicare Board of Trustees report found that Social Security will only be able to pay out full benefits for the next 11 years if Congress does not intervene.
John said that the lack of coverage goes beyond just weighing down individuals — it could also have a drag on the wider economy.
"If we have a substantial number of people who don't have sufficient resources, they're going to put pressure on governments," he said. Those retirees will likely be more dependent on government programs like housing, healthcare, and senior citizen centers. "There is an expense to the economy and there is an expense to frankly the future by not dealing with this problem."
Do you not receive retirement benefits through work and are worried about your future? Contact these reporters at jkaplan@businessinsider.com and asheffey@businessinsider.com.