YahooFinance reported this week that state-sponsored Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) reached a significant milestone as more than one million workers across 15 states have now saved $3 billion for retirement.
What they’re saying: “The speed at which they got there tells the real story,” says John Scott, retirement savings project director at Pew Charitable Trusts. “It took six years to reach the first billion, 18 months to reach the second, and just 11 months to reach the third.”
Why it matters: Nearly half of U.S. private-sector workers — roughly 56 million people — don’t have access to a retirement plan, according to YahooFinance. State auto-IRA programs have stepped in to help.
In 2017, Oregon introduced the first retirement savings program. Since then, a growing number of states have passed laws to help workers save for retirement, including Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Illinois, California, and Virginia.
Next year, two more states, Hawaii and Washington, will launch their plans, and at least a dozen more states, plus Washington, D.C., are considering legislation to create programs.
