Today, my SCEPA research team joined me in releasing a study, "Are Maryland Workers Ready for Retirement," documenting a downward trend in both employer sponsorship of retirement plans and employee participation rates in Maryland from 1995 to 2012, making it increasingly difficult for workers to prepare for retirement.
In 2010, 49% of Maryland's workers – 1.25 million residents – were not participating in an employer-provided retirement plan. The lack of access has immediate implications for those nearing retirement: 41% of households headed by someone near retirement age (55-64 years old) will have to subsist almost entirely on Social Security income or will not be able to retire at all due to negligible savings.
SCEPA's research attributes the downward trend in workers' financial security in retirement to three factors:
1. A drop in employers' sponsorship of retirement plans for their workers. From 2000 to 2010, the availability of employer-sponsored retirement plans in Maryland declined by eight percentage points, from 67% to 59%.
2. A shift away from traditional pensions, which are mandatory, defined benefit pension (DB) plans, to 401(k)-type defined contribution (DC) plans. Only 36% of workers aged 25-44 have a DB plan as their primary employer-sponsored retirement plan, compared to 43% of workers aged 45-54 and 53% of those aged 55-64. Based on financial data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the report concludes that those with DB plans are more likely to maintain a middle class lifestyle throughout retirement, whereas those with only DC plans will need to consider selling their homes to obtain adequate retirement income.
3. A lack of participation in voluntary defined contribution plans. Of the 59% of workers who had access to a retirement plan at work, 14% did not participate, either due to personal choice or structural rules that exclude part-time workers, those with under a year of service, or those under 25.
The report broke down the trend by age, race, and industry:
AGE: Workers between 25 and 44 had the largest drop in sponsorship - 13% - among all age groups surveyed, suggesting this downward trend will continue as the population ages.
RACE: Hispanic workers lost the most ground with a 20% decline in sponsorship rates, more than double the decline of 9% experienced by White and Black Non-Hispanic workers.
INDUSTRY: Traditionally, large employers offer more benefits. However, firms with 500 to 999 employees showed the biggest proportional drop in sponsorship of 16%. They also had the largest absolute decline, dropping from 75% to 63%.
SCEPA recently testified at a hearing in the Maryland House of Delegates regarding legislation sponsored by Delegate Tom Hucker that would increase access to a retirement savings plans by giving workers the option of opening an individual Guaranteed Retirement Account (GRA) through the existing Maryland State Retirement and Pension System. A similar bill, sponsored by Senator Jim Rosapepe, would establish a Maryland Private Sector Employees Pension Plan.
The Guaranteed Retirement Account (GRA) is based on Ghilarducci's STATE GRA plan, which was recently enacted in California. The proposal takes advantage of existing financial infrastructure in the state to give private sector workers access to the best financial managers and the lowest fees. The accounts would be separate from public sector retirement funds and come at no cost to taxpayers—workers would pay administrative fees. Since these are individual retirement savings accounts, there is no liability to the state. Workers take out what they and their employer put in, plus the returns they earn. Private capital markets offer expensive retirement accounts with high fees to lower income workers because the sums invested are low. By pooling the money from many private sector workers, the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System can invest in longer-term opportunities with higher rates of return and charge lower fees.