Conversation on Coverage

About this grant

Currently, only half of the workforce has a private retirement plan. The other half — primarily women, minorities, part-time and contingent workers, and those in the service sector — will rely primarily on Social Security, which typically pays minimum wage or half of what they will need. In July 2001, the Pension Rights Center organized a two-day event to stimulate a national public policy discussion on retirement savings strategies for low- and moderate-wage earners. Multiyear funding will support the next phase of the effort, including a public policy track and demonstration projects. Objectives include developing consensus among participants around one or more proposals to increase retirement assets for working families; increasing the number of national organizations that include pension coverage expansion on their policy agendas; conducting new research to develop a new paradigm for increasing pension coverage for low- and moderate-wage workers; and designing and recruiting partners for a demonstration project.The Pension Rights Center is the only U.S. consumer organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the pension rights of American workers. It works to expand pension coverage in the United States; assist pension customers; and translate complex pension rules and regulations into everyday language.