"Bipartisan" isn't a word you hear a lot on Capitol Hill these days, but a recent flurry of retirement legislation includes major bipartisan proposals.
Momentum is building for comprehensive retirement reform with proposals like the Improving Access to Retirement Savings Act and the Securing a Strong Retirement Act, known as Secure 2.0. Another bill, reintroduced from previous congressional sessions, the Retirement Security & Savings Act, would help small businesses offer 401(k)s and other retirement plans, among other provisions.
How urgent is retirement reform? A new survey from the Economic Innovation Group finds that a big majority of American voters across the political spectrum agree that retirement security is a problem for the country.
Echelon Insights conducted the nationally representative online survey in mid-March among 1,000 registered voters.
According to the survey, three-quarters of Americans feel confident about their financial futures, but only half are confident that the next generation will be better off.
Fifty-nine percent of respondents reported that they had an IRA or a 401(k), but only 48% said their employer offers a matching contribution.
Of those without a retirement savings account, 44% said they did not have enough money after expenses to save.
Sixty-seven percent of survey participants said they would have enough savings to live comfortably in retirement, including 78% of African American respondents and 69% of white respondents, but just 44% of Hispanics.
Low-Income Americans
Asked how concerned they felt, if at all, about the ability of low-income Americans to save for the future and about retirement security, 82% in each instance reported that they were somewhat to extremely concerned.
