20 States Where It's Hardest to Save for Retirement
Here are the most challenging states for retirement savings.
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Millions of Americans are struggling to save enough for retirement. One thing that can make the process easier is if your employer offers a retirement plan. But this benefit—once a standard of American employment—has become increasingly rare. Less than half of Americans have access to a retirement plan provided by an employer. These are the 20 states where it's hardest to save for retirement, listed in increasing order of difficulty.
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The Sunflower State lands in the bottom 20 nationwide: Only 45.1% of workers (and 35% of low-income workers) have access to an employer-provided retirement plan.
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In Tennesee, only 45% of workers have access to a retirement plan. The situation is even worse for low-income workers: Only 32% have retirement savings access through an employer.
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In the Garden State, only 45% of employees have a retirement plan through work, and only 26% of low-income workers do.
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Saving for retirement isn't so great in the Great Lakes State, where only 44.2% of workers (and 31% of low-income workers) are offered a retirement plan by their employer.
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In the Bay State, 44.1% of workers have employer retirement plan access, and 29.4% of low-income employees do.
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Nevada comes in as the fifteenth most difficult state to save for retirement in, with only 43.9% of workers (and 30% of low-income workers) qualifying for an employer-backed retirement plan.
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In the Palmetto State, only 43.8% of employees have a retirement plan through work, and only 31% of low-income workers do.
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Less than half of workers in North Carolina can contribute to a retirement plan through their employer: 43%. The situation is worse for low-income workers: Only 33% of them can.
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Mississippi ties with one other state for 12th place: 42.9% of workers in the state have access to an employer-provided retirement plan, as do 32% of low-income employees.
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As in Mississippi, 42.9% of New Yorkers have access to an employer-backed retirement account. But the situation for low-income workers is much worse: Only 26% of that group do.
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Connecticut lands in the top 10 with some discouraging statistics: only 42.4% of workers (and 24% of low-income workers) have access to an employer-provided retirement plan.
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In Arkansas, only 42.2% of employees have a retirement plan through work, and only 34% of low-income workers do.
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The Grand Canyon State is a relative sinkhole for retirement savings: Only 41.8% of workers overall—and 34% of low-income workers—have access to a retirement plan via their employer.
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Utah ties Arizona for eighth place, with 41.8% of workers, and 32% of low-income employees, availed of a retirement plan through work.
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Oklahoma is far from OK in terms of ease of retirement savings, as only 40.8% of residents have a work-based plan. At 29%, low-income workers are also in the nationwide bottom ten.
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Although California comes in as the fifth-most difficult state for overall workers to save for retirement—40.7% have access to an employer's retirement plan)—it's the second-worst for low-income workers: Only 24% of that group have access.
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In the Lone Star State, only 40.3% of employees have a retirement plan through work, and only 26% of low-income workers do.
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In Rhode Island, only 38% of employees have a retirement plan through work, and only 32% of low-income workers do.
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The Peach State is nearly the pits for retirement savings: Only 36.6% of workers have access to an employer-based retirement plan. That number drops to 30% among low-income workers.
RELATED: 20 Worst States in America for Healthcare
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Florida comes up worst among American states in both categories: overall employees (only 33.1% have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan) and low-income workers (only 23% do).