Boost Your Retirement Security: Click MyRetirementPA.com

MyRetirementPA.comHelping you boost your retirement security is critical.  That’s why I’ve joined with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and public officials to strongly support a new retirement security tool. 

On Thursday, lawmakers unveiled a website called MyRetirementPA.com which is designed to help protect the retirement security of tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians.

Senator Hughes“More must be done to protect and enhance retirement security for all Pennsylvanians.  No one should fear retiring without access to financial resources that enable them to enjoy a quality retirement.”

The new retirement initiative is designed to help better prepare Pennsylvanians for retirement.  An estimated two million working Pennsylvanians are not offered an employer-sponsored retirement plan.  Another 750,000 plus workers can participate in a plan, but fail to engage. 

Pennsylvanians who do not have sufficient retirement security cost taxpayers.  The state treasurer estimated that taxpayers could pay up to $14 billion in state assistance costs between 2015 and 2030 to cover insufficient retirement security. 

New legislation has been developed in both in the House and Senate to create a retirement security program.  A new approach is needed.  Consider:

  • Workers in Pennsylvania businesses with less than 100 employees are less likely to have a retirement plan.  An estimated 1.1 million small business employees do not have a pension plan; 
  • 66 percent of workers without a high school degree do not have an employer retirement plan;
  • Lack of retirement security is prevalent across all earning levels. Over 1.2 million Pennsylvanians who earn $40,000 or more do not have an employer-sponsored retirement plan; 
  • Worker access to a retirement plan varies by race.  More than half of Hispanic workers (56 percent) and slightly more than half (52 percent) of African Americans do not have employer-based retirement plans. 
Pennsylvania: Who is NOT Covered by a Workplace Retirement Plan? 
(percentage and number of private wage and salary workers ages 18–64 whose employer does not offer a retirement plan)
Item Group % Number
ALL ALL 43.8% 2,181,586
Age 18–34 years 
35–44 years
45–54 years
55–64 years		 53.1% 
40.7%
36.4%
36.9%		 1,020,179
411,029
416,173
334,204
Race & Ethnicity* Hispanic
Asian (non-Hispanic) 
Black (non-Hispanic)
White (non-Hispanic)		 55.6%
52.4%
51.8%
41.8%		 151,298
53,699
231,153
1,714,719
Education Less than high school
High school
Some college
Bachelor’s or higher 		 65.9%
48.6%
46.4%
32.8%		 212,671
834,307
638,916
495,692
Gender Male
Female		 42.1%
45.8%		 1,102,529
1,079,057
Employer Size Under 10 
10–49
50–99
100–499
500–999
1,000+		 76.7%
61.2%
50.0%
37.5%
33.1%
30.3%		 444,129 
497,456
233,599 
273,682
107,652 
625,067
Earnings Quintile $14,000 or less 
$14,001 to $25,000 
$25,001 to $40,000 
$40,001 to $63,500 
Over $63,500		 73.0%
54.6%
43.4%
31.9%
24.7%		 569,724
388,366
305,175 
257,443 
188,727
Source: U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, March Supplements 2012–2014. Note: The results are based on three-year averages from 2011–2013. The sample includes workers whose longest-held job was in the private sector. Earnings quintiles are based on all wages and salary earned by U.S. workers, whether or not they were covered by a retirement plan. * Other non-Hispanic category is not shown, so sum of race & ethinicity categories may not sum to total