The Saver's Match access gap: U.S. workers who are income-eligible but lack a qualifying retirement plan

Weighted counts of workers age 18 and older with incomes below the Saver's Match upper threshold who do not currently hold a qualifying retirement plan.

Income is calendar-year personal gross income; Married Filing Jointly uses the spouse-pair sum. The Single row includes Married Filing Separately, which faces the same thresholds. Full Match Below corresponds to income at or below the lower threshold ($20,500 Single; $30,750 Head of Household; $41,000 Married Filing Jointly); Phaseout Range corresponds to income strictly between the lower and upper thresholds ($35,500 Single; $53,250 Head of Household; $71,000 Married Filing Jointly). A qualifying retirement plan is a 401(k)-type defined-contribution plan or an Individual Retirement Account (IRA or Keogh); defined-benefit pensions are excluded because they cannot receive Saver's Match contributions. Counts are lower bounds on the true adjusted-gross-income-defined population because the income measure does not subtract above-the-line deductions.
Source: EIG analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Survey of Income and Program Participation 2024 Wave 1; statutory thresholds from IRC sec 6433 (SECURE 2.0 Act).