EIG: More Than 76M Workers Lack Employer-Provided Retirement Accounts

About 76.2 million U.S. workers do not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, according to recently updated analysis by the Economic Innovation Group, a public policy and economic advocacy group.

The EIG found that approximately 61 million workers without access are employed by an organization, while the other 15 million are self-employed, according to analysis was updated last week.

According to the analysis, retirement plan access varies significantly by employment status and sector. In the private sector, where most Americans work, 49.1% of workers lacked access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Among part-time employees in the private sector, 77% lacked access to a workplace retirement plan, compared with 42% of full-time private sector workers.

The analysis found government workers generally had broader access to retirement benefits, but 30.2% still lacked access to an employer-sponsored plan. The affected workers were concentrated primarily in state and local government positions and were more likely to be younger, lower-paid and employed part time.

The report also examined the availability of employer matching and nonelective contributions, using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2025, the EIG found that only 37% of workers received an employer contribution or match to a workplace retirement plan.

Among those who did receive employer contributions, the median annual amount was approximately $3,000, while the average contribution across sectors was about $5,800.

Access Gap Widest Among Lower-Income Workers

The analysis found disparities in retirement plan access were more pronounced across income levels than across demographic categories such as race, ethnicity or education.

According to the EIG, higher-income workers were more likely to have access to workplace retirement plans and were generally better positioned to take advantage of retirement tax incentives. Lower-income workers, by contrast, often faced financial constraints that limited their ability to contribute to retirement savings, even when a plan was available.

Also using SIPP, the EIG found that within the bottom 10% of household income respondents, 88% of private sector employees lacked access to an employer plan, while 91% decided not to participate and another 91% received no employer match.

Among the top 10% of income earners, only 14% lacked access to an employer-provided plan, 18% did not participate, and 24% were offered a plan with no employer match.

“Nearly nine in 10 private sector employees in the lowest earnings decile lack access, compared with roughly one in seven in the highest earnings decile,” wrote EIG Senior Economist Benjamin Glasner in an email to PLANADVISER. “The access gap is a significant barrier in the U.S. retirement system that limits millions of workers’ ability to build savings for a secure future retirement.

The report insinuated that expanding plan access among lower-income workers may help improve retirement preparedness.

“Expanding access to retirement plans for workers at the bottom of the income distribution is a necessary first step in addressing the future of retirement, but access alone will have a limited impact if it is not paired with a match or additional contribution of some variety,” per the report. “When we consider workers under the tightest liquidity constraints, we need to find ways to significantly improve the value of saving today to support living standards tomorrow.”

EIG backs the Retirement Savings for Americans Act, legislation in the House of Representatives that would create federally administered retirement savings accounts for low- and middle-income workers who lack access to a workplace plan. The measure has been currently referred to the House Committee on Education and Workface and the House Committee on Ways and Means.