The Aspen Institute

Nearly half of all U.S. workers do not have access to any type of employer-based retirement account. Many states concerned about the huge gap between the amounts their citizens are currently saving and what they’ll need for a secure retirement are pursuing solutions, but thorny legal questions have hampered efforts – until now. This issue brief summarizes recently released federal rules creating new ways for states to expand retirement coverage for private-sector workers, and highlights the tradeoffs state policymakers will face when deciding which of these new avenues to pursue.