4 Ways to Rethink and Retool the System in 2025, According to the Aspen Institute

The Aspen Institute hosts a forum each year with a specific goal: to make retirement savings fully inclusive and effective. At the annual meeting Aspen Leadership Forum on Retirement Savingssome of the brightest minds in retirement saving tackle a broad range of tools, policies, financial products and structures that can increase retirement security and wealth creation for all Americans .

Many of the game-changing solutions that were discussed at the Annual Forum are now real, according to the Institute. “From Workplace Emergency Savings Policy to Student Loan Matching in 401(k)s to Birth Retirement Savings Accounts to Federal Matching Funds for Savers low-income, we are seeing real progress,” according to the Institute.

Here are four key takeaways from the latest Aspen report:

No. 1: Establish universal access to workplace pension plans

“Eight actions facilitated by the State auto-IRA programs are now operational,” the report states. Since 2012, every state except Alabama has passed or introduced legislation that would establish state-facilitated retirement savings programs.

Requiring most employers without a retirement plan to automatically enroll their workers in a state program has produced results: More than 800,000 workers in eight active states have already amassed $1.5 billion in Roths IRA, according to the report.

Early data shows that public programs could also incentivize local employers to open their own retirement plans. In 2025, under SECURE 2.0, employers instituting new 401(k)s and 403(b)s will be required to automatically enroll workers. However, “even as access continues to improve, retirement security will depend on helping workers find funds to save,” according to the report.

#2: Tackle the “$1,000 Problem”

Along with the broader access offered by state auto-IRAs and expanded automatic enrollment in private retirement plans, comes what the Forum has dubbed “the $1,000 problem”: the average amount of low-balance retirement accounts that are often “less economical to administer and more inclined.” to get lost,” the report said.

Public plans generally recruit new savers with modest incomes, so average balances are low, especially at the start. In most states, the total is around $1,000. “Thus, solving the ‘$1,000 problem’ in pensions could potentially have broader applications in the world of financial services,” according to the report. One solution: more multi-state consortia. “A new multi-state consortium of state-facilitated auto-IRA programs, led by Colorado, could one day serve as an example of how to minimize delivery costs by achieving scale more quickly,” the report says .

Another way to solve the $1,000 problem? Let employers contribute to workers’ IRAs, which is not currently allowed.

No. 3: The new Saver’s Match has enormous potential

The new Saver’s Match program, which launches in 2027, allows low-income employees to receive a 50% federal matching contribution of up to $1,000, in addition to any employer match. “The biggest challenge, however, may be how to communicate the benefits, eligibility rules, and logistics of matching, both to low-income workers and their employers,” according to the report. The information should be easy to understand and “the Treasury Department should promote the program,” according to the report.

#4: Create a mix of products and policies to help retirees achieve lifetime income

“Longevity is perhaps the greatest risk retirees face, and some fail to grasp the consequences of increasing life expectancy,” the report said. There is no shortage of financial products to help retirees manage their income, particularly annuities, but Forum participants spoke of the difficulty of convincing Americans to use these tools.

“Social Security is one of the best annuities available, especially if retirees can wait until full retirement age to qualify — or, better yet, until age 70, when the maximum benefit becomes available,” the report recommends. However, “targeted education and counseling is absolutely necessary,” according to the report. For what? “Nearly one in three workers apply for Social Security retirement benefits at age 62, as early as possible in the accumulation phase. “Educating near-retirees” can help them qualify for income guaranteed higher for life.

Another solution? “Transition products or accounts that can generate income for a short period between retirement and optimal Social Security application,” recommends the Institute.