Recent reporting shows that roughly 42% of full-time U.S. workers — more than 40 million people, don’t have access to a retirement plan through their employer. That number should give everyone in the industry pause.
This isn’t simply a headline or a statistical footnote — it points to a structural flaw in how we approach retirement readiness in this country. For millions of Americans, employer-sponsored savings vehicles like 401(k)s are not an option. And when access is the barrier, we can’t chalk the problem up to personal choice or financial literacy alone.
Without access to workplace plans, lower- and middle-income workers are shut out of the benefits that make retirement saving achievable: automatic payroll deduction, employer matching contributions, fiduciary oversight, and the power of long-term compounding. They’re left to navigate the complicated world of IRAs on their own — often without guidance, consistency, or confidence.
I’m wary of how these statistics get used, sometimes as talking points, sometimes to justify rushed policy — but the underlying issue can’t be ignored. A retirement system built around employer plans is only as strong as the number of workers who can actually participate.
If retirement security is a national priority, then access has to be part of the equation. Until it is, the gap isn’t just financial, it’s systemic.