A national survey of working-age Americans finds strong support for new state-facilitated retirement programs that are focused on helping workers without employer-provided plans save for retirement. More than three-fourths of Americans (77 percent) agree that state-facilitated retirement programs are a good idea. And at a time when the nation faces deep political division on a broad range of issues, support for state-facilitated programs holds strong across party lines. Among Democrats, 86 percent agree these retirement plans are a good idea, as do 74 percent of Republicans and 71 percent of Independents.

Americans’ Views of State-Facilitated Retirement Programs is based upon a national survey of working-age Americans conducted by Greenwald Research. This issue brief is a supplement to a recent NIRS report, Retirement Insecurity 2024: Americans’ Views of Retirement. Read the report.

This research’s key findings are as follows:

• The vast majority of Americans (77 percent) agree that state-facilitated retirement savings programs are a good idea. There is high support across party and generational lines, with support highest among Millennials (79 percent).
• More than three-quarters of Americans (82 percent) say they would participate in state-facilitated retirement programs, up from 75 percent in 2020. The support is consistent across party and generational lines.
• Americans view many key features of state-facilitated retirement programs as highly favorable, especially that the programs would provide higher returns than other safe investments in today’s market (87 percent) and have low fees (86 percent).