A recent report, “Americans’ Views Of State & Local Employee Retirement Plans,” surveyed over 1,200 adults in December 2020.
“The past several decades has seen dramatic changes
to the U.S. retirement system that has undermined retirement for large
portions of the U.S. workforce,” authors Dan Doonan and Kelly Kenneally wrote
in the report. “Much of the workforce lacks an employer-sponsored retirement
plan, fewer workers have stable and secure defined benefit pensions, while
401(k)-style defined contribution individual accounts shift costs and risks to
workers and typically lack lifetime income that pools longevity risks.”
Citing research from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Institute on Retirement Security found that pensions provided an average benefit payment of $2,335 per month in 2018 to over 11 million retirees and beneficiaries.
Doonan and Kenneally noted that public sector pensions were able to withstand much of the volatility caused by the pandemic in 2020. Public pension assets as of the third quarter had doubled since 2009 to $4.78 trillion, “all while reliably pumping hundreds of billions of dollars annually into the economy,” they noted.
Unlike other public benefit programs, like Medicare
for All, support for expanding access to pensions held across party lines.
Roughly eight out of 10 respondents from all parties supported pensions for
all, including 75% of Republicans and 80% of Democrats.
Over three-quarters — 77% — of Americans believe that all workers should have access to a pension plan, according to research from the National Institute on Retirement Security. Two-thirds feel that pensions promise a more secure retirement than the ubiquitous 401(k) plan.
Americans’ support for pensions isn’t surprising considering the current state of retirement insecurity. More than two-thirds of respondents believe the country is facing a retirement crisis, and 56% are worried about their own prospects for financial uncertainty in retirement.
In the post-pandemic era, with the nature of work dramatically shifting as employers adjust to increased demand for hybrid workforces amid recovering unemployment, pensions provide employers with valuable tools to attract and retain workers.
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