EIG Media Contact: Reuben Francis | [email protected]

Washington, D.C. – The Economic Innovation Group (EIG) released the following statement in response to President Trump’s State of the Union announcement on forthcoming action to provide retirement accounts modeled after the federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).

“EIG welcomes the president’s commitment to creating new pathways for workers to build wealth modeled after the federal Thrift Savings Program (TSP),” said John Lettieri, President and CEO of the Economic Innovation Group. “Closing the gap in retirement savings would be transformative for working Americans, millions of whom are being left behind by the current system. Doing so would also reap enormous long-run fiscal benefits by reducing dependence on safety net programs. For these reasons, EIG has been a strong supporter of the bipartisan, bicameral Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA), which we believe could easily be paired with the Trump Administration’s executive action to deliver a historic win for American workers.”

EIG’s research has consistently documented the scale of the retirement access gap:

  • 42 percent of full-time working Americans do not have access to retirement plans.
  • 50.5 percent do not receive an employer match.
  • Lower-income workers are disproportionately left out of the current system. A staggering 78.7 percent of full-time workers in the lowest-earning decile (earning less than $27,400 a year) lack access to a retirement plan.

The bipartisan Retirement Savings for Americans Act offers a ready-made framework to close this gap.

Learn more about the RSAA and EIG’s retirement policy work here: https://inclusivewealth.eig.org/

About the Economic Innovation Group (EIG)

The Economic Innovation Group (EIG) is a bipartisan public policy organization dedicated to forging a more dynamic and inclusive American economy. Headquartered in Washington, DC, EIG produces nationally-recognized research and works with policymakers to develop ideas that empower workers, entrepreneurs, and communities.