31 percent of employed Americans have no access to retirement savings accounts through their workplace. This is according to a new survey conducted by retirement advocacy organization Funding Our Future, in partnership with private research company Morning Consult.
“Having enough money saved for retirement is one of the biggest financial challenges Americans face,” the press release announcing the survey’s findings reads. “With the central role that 401K-type plans have come to play, those who lack the opportunity to save in a workplace retirement account are at a severe disadvantage.”
Morning Consult conducted the poll in early June, with a respondent pool of 840 employed adults. The interview portion of the survey was conducted exclusively online, with the resulting data weighted to approximate a target sample of employed adults based on age, highest level of education, race, gender and regional location within the United States.
Of those surveyed without access to a retirement savings account, 75 percent of respondents indicated that they would be likely to set money aside for retirement if they were given the option to do so.
“This means an additional 33.8 million Americans (based on available U.S. Census Bureau data) could be saving through a workplace retirement savings plan if they were given the option – a major opportunity to improve retirement readiness across the country,” the press release reads. “Notably, the likelihood to save does differ by gender, with 82 percent of women saying they were somewhat or very likely to save if given access, compared to 69 percent for men.”
Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. For more on the survey and the data that underpins it, read the press release.
