Retirement Security: Recent Efforts by Other Countries to Expand Plan Coverage and Facilitate Savings
By GAO
Ensuring retirement income security for the aging U.S. workforce presents many challenges. People are increasingly responsible for their retirement planning, and as they live longer, they may outlive their savings.
We reviewed steps other countries have taken to promote retirement plan savings. International experts informed us of several efforts, including auto-enrollment—which can increase plan participation for eligible workers but may not reach others, such as part-time or self-employed workers.
Our review of these and other efforts can inform U.S. policymakers as they consider options to improve the nation’s retirement security.
What GAO Found
According to representatives GAO interviewed about selected international retirement savings plans, most of the plans require eligible employers to automatically enroll some of their workforce, unless workers explicitly opt out. This automatic enrollment is intended to help increase plan participation. However, those not automatically enrolled, including some self-employed and part-time workers, remain difficult to cover. For example, part-time employees must work for 24 months before becoming eligible for automatic enrollment in one plan GAO reviewed.
Read the study @GAO
