为当今劳动力实现退休政策现代化

“Modernizing Retirement Policy for Today’s Workforce”U.S. House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions January 7, 2026 Good morning, Chairman Allen, Ranking Member DeSaulnier, and members of theSubcommittee. I am Nari Rhee, Director of the Retirement Security Program at the UC Berkeley I would like to highlight the challenges that most American workers face in the existingretirement system and offer some considerations for integrating lifetime income products into ●Despite record assets held in 401(k)s and IRAs, the reality is that almost half of workersare not covered by a job-based retirement plan, and a large majority of working-age ●In this context, it is critical to safeguard Social Security, which is the primary defenseagainst poverty for American workers, and to continue to protect their hard-earned ●The need to generate predictable income from 401(k)s is a legitimate, longstandingconcern for plan sponsors and policymakers — but given the complexity of annuity 1.The Current Retirement System Is Leaving the Majority of Workers Behind The U.S. retirement system is failing to provide a path to security for a large segment ofthe workforce. Employer-sponsored retirement plan coverage varies widely by industry, occupation, firm size, and full-time/part-time status, effectively excluding most low-wageworkers.1Nearly half of all U.S. workers employed in wage and salary jobs—including79% of workers in the bottom 20% of the earnings distribution and 64% of those in the Consequently,two out of five working-age households haveno 401(k) or IRA assets (Figure 2). Among households aged 25-64, the rate of retirement account ownership—i.e.,ownership of assets in 401(k)-type accounts or IRAs—declined after the 2007 financial crisisand only recently recovered in 2022 at 59%. On the bright side, retirement account ownershipsteadily increased for younger households aged 25-34, from 46% in 2013 to 56% in 2022. Given the large share of households with no retirement account, the typical (median)retirement account balances among working-age households aged 25-64 was just $8,000 in2022, with wide inequality between white and Asian households on one hand and Black andLatino households on the other (Figure 3).For those near retirement (aged 55-64), the While total retirement assets have reached record highs, this growth masks a profound andwidening inequality. AsFigure 5shows, 401(k) and IRA assets are increasingly concentrated atthe top. Among near-retirement households (ages 55-64), the share of 401(k)/IRA assets heldby the bottom 70% was a mere 4.9% in 2022, reflecting a substantial decrease from 7.2% in According to studies by Federal Reserve economists, the decline of defined benefit pensionsand the rise of 401(k)s have contributed to growing wealth inequality in the U.S.2Conversely,Social Security and defined-benefit pensions play a significant role in modulating retirementinequality.3 Insufficient Wage Growth Wages and income are neglected in retirement savings discussions, and here I want to brieflytouch on two important factors: slow wage growth and increased income volatility, both ofwhich make it difficult for workers to save. While low-wage workers saw gains during the pandemic, these gains were a break from a40-year pattern of wage stagnation. Real median wage growth has lagged far behind economicgrowth: between 1979 and 2024, U.S. productivity increased by over 100%, while real medianwages grew by less than one-third that amount.4(See Figure 6.) Low wages and incomes suppress retirement plan participation and savings rates. Whileauto-enrollment and auto-escalation of contributions in 401(k)s and state-sponsored auto-IRAprograms are a step forward, low-wage workers are still much more likely to opt out than In addition to low income level, an additional barrier to retirement saving is income volatility,especially among hourly wage employees and gig and self-employed workers. When I talk to Modernizing Retirement Policy for Today’s Workforce•Nari Rhee, Ph.D.•page 4Testimony before U.S. House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions unions representing low-wage workers—for instance, childcare and homecare workers—aboutauto-enrollment, I often hear that they’re worried about having enough saved to retire but Notes: Data are for compensation (wages and benefits) of production/nonsupervisory workers in the privatesector and net productivity of the total economy. “Net productivity” is the growth of output of goods and servicesless depreciation per hour worked. Source: EPI analysis of unpublished Total Economy Productivity data from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) LaborProductivity and Costs program, wage data from the BLS Current Employment Statistics, BLS Employment CostTrends, BLS Consumer Price Index, and Bureau of Economic Analysis National Income and Product Accounts.https://www.epi.org/blog/the-widening-productivity-pay-gap/ 2.Private Right of Action Under ER