Establishing state-facilitated retirement savings programs (SFRPs) comes with costs, but so does doing nothing. Research on “the cost of doing nothing” highlights the potential of SFRPs to address the impact of insufficient retirement income on economic growth, tax revenues and the costs of social services.

The length of time it takes for a state-facilitated retirement savings program (SFRP) to become self-sustaining depends largely on how quickly the number of participants and the total dollars saved grow. Program growth is influenced by several key variables. Making accurate projections requires making assumptions that reflect the unique nature of each state and program.

SFRPs taking a hit during the pandemic? Despite concerns about how pandemic related un- and underemployment might increase withdrawals from state-facilitated retirement savings programs (SFRPs), contributions remained steady and withdrawals increased only slightly.