MEDIA ADVISORY: HELP Committee to Hold Hearing on Confronting the Retirement Crisis Facing Working Class Americans

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 – The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), will hold a hearing on Wednesday, February 28 at 10:00 a.m. ET titled, “Taking a Serious Look at the Retirement Crisis in America: What can we do to expand defined benefit pension plans for workers?”

“At a time when more than half of older Americans have no retirement savings and more than 50 percent of our nation’s seniors are trying to survive on an income of less than $30,000 a year, we must address the retirement crisis facing working class Americans,” said Sanders. “In the richest country in the history of the world, it is a national disgrace that one in ten seniors live in poverty. We have the tools to ensure that every senior in America can retire with the dignity and security that they deserve. It’s time to act.”

Today, nearly half of all Americans are at risk of a financially insecure retirement, up from one in three workers in 1983. Part of this issue stems from the decline in access to defined benefit plans, which provide workers with a specified pension payment, typically in the form of monthly checks. In contrast, defined contribution plans shift the risk on to individual employees and the amount they provide depends more on individual investment returns. A defined benefit plan is typically 49 percent more cost effective than a defined contribution account. In 1975, roughly 27.2 million workers participated in defined benefit plans, compared to 11.2 million workers participating in defined contribution plans. In 2019, 85.5 million workers participated in defined contribution plans compared to 12.6 million defined benefit plan participants.

Limited access to retirement plans in the workplace have also contributed financially to insecure retirements for many Americans. Today, only 13.5 percent of workers have a traditional pension and about 57 million Americans do not have a way to save for retirement easily out of their regular paycheck. Workers are 15 times more likely to save for retirement if they can do so via payroll deduction and 20 times more likely to save if access to a workplace retirement plan is automatic.

Details
What: Hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee to consider “Taking a Serious Look at the Retirement Crisis in America: What can we do to expand defined benefit pension plans for workers?”
When: 10:00 a.m. ET, Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Where: Room 430, Dirksen Senate Office Building. The hearing will also be livestreamed on the HELP Committee’s website and Sanders’ social media pages.
Who: Witnesses to be announced.