Pew Charitable Trusts Committed to Improving Retirement

Press Release, Aug 02, 2006

PHILADELPHIA -- Today, The Pew Charitable Trusts announced a renewed investment in the Retirement Security Project, an initiative designed to increase the number of Americans who save for the future, bringing the Trusts' total commitment to the Project to $9 million. This grant follows two years of success by the Project in advancing a series of practical policy solutions that make it easier and provide incentives for middle- and lower-income Americans to save for a secure retirement.

"Research has clearly demonstrated that Americans are much more likely to adequately prepare for retirement when employers and the government make it easier to save," said Rebecca W. Rimel, president and CEO of The Pew Charitable Trusts. "The Retirement Security Project has had tremendous success in raising awareness of the common-sense policy changes that can help millions of Americans better prepare for the future."

Since 2004, the Project has developed several research-based policy proposals, many of which have been adopted and are already helping Americans save for retirement. The Project's results include:

Several large employers have begun automatically enrolling employees in 401(k) plans based on the Project's research, which found that automatic enrollment with the option to opt-out more than doubles the number of employees who participate. Legislation to facilitate employer adoption of Automatic 401(k)s has passed both the House and Senate as part of the pending pension reform. Read more at releases.usnewswire.com