The retirement crisis can’t wait — and neither should Congress

America’s retirement savings crisis is no longer a distant warning — it is unfolding in real time right before our eyes. Millions of America’s workers are either never entering the retirement savings system or quietly dropping out of it when life gets complicated: a job change, a medical bill, a period of unemployment.

Without intervention, those workers don’t come back. And as artificial intelligence accelerates workforce disruption, the stakes are rising for an entirely new generation entering an unpredictable labor market, leaving families vulnerable and putting more pressure on already strained federal safety nets.

America Saves Week calls for more than just awareness. It calls for action, underscoring the importance of planning for retirement and highlighting the need for policymakers to focus on reforms that make saving easier to start, restart and sustain over a lifetime.

Years ago, Congress recognized this looming issue and passed two bills — the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 Act — to expand automatic enrollment, boost catch-up contributions, increase the required minimum distribution age and assist small businesses in offering retirement plans. The result, nearly 6 million new small business employees gained 401(k) access since 2019.

But today, gaps are still evident — and Congress must move quickly to address them to help more Americans stay in the system and continue saving.

One of the most persistent and underappreciated failures in the retirement system is the worker who opts out and is never brought back in. Automatic enrollment has transformed plan participation over the past decade, but it only works once. Every year that an eligible worker goes without reenrollment is a year of compounding growth lost. The Auto Reenroll Act would close that gap by periodically reenrolling eligible employees, giving workers another on-ramp into savings without requiring them to navigate the system on their own.

The logic is simple: Inertia works both ways. The same behavioral tendency that causes workers to opt out — defaulting to the status quo — can be turned into an asset. Periodic automatic reenrollment resets the default back toward saving, without removing worker choice. It is one of the most cost-effective retirement policy interventions available to Congress.

The earlier you start saving, the longer your money can work for you, and the more powerful compound earnings become. A worker who begins contributing at 18 rather than 21 could accumulate tens of thousands more in retirement savings over a 40-year career. And at a moment when career paths are starting younger and becoming less linear, the case for getting workers into the system earlier — and building savings habits before financial pressures compound — has never been stronger. Another bill, the Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act, would lower the eligibility age for 401(k) and 403(b) plans from 21 to 18 and eliminate age-based exclusions for workers who meet service requirements.

My company works with millions of people planning for retirement. What we see is that retirement isn’t just about eligibility but about participation. And while we take pride in helping individuals and families plan for the future, our individual effort can only go so far. The structural barriers that push workers out of the system — or keep them from ever entering — are ones only Congress can remove.

The window to act is shrinking. As automation accelerates and workforce dynamics shift, retirement policy must keep pace. The next phase of bipartisan retirement reform must focus on practical measures to expand participation.

By passing the Auto Reenroll Act and the Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act, Congress can help more Americans stay on track and build real financial security. America Saves Week serves as an important reminder that financial security does not happen by accident. It starts with intent and is followed by action — and Congress can act by making retirement simpler for working people and families.

Andy Blocker is head of policy, regulatory and government relations at Edward Jones. 

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