Washington Voters Would Support a State Retirement Plan

This survey was commissioned by AARP Washington to gauge the support of registered voters in the state for a state retirement savings program.  

Top Findings

• Most (82%) Washington voters agree that state lawmakers should support legislation that makes it easier for workers to save for retirement.
• Two-thirds (66%) of Washington voters are anxious about having enough money to live comfortably in their retirement years.
• The majority of registered voters ages 35 and older (87%) wish they had more money saved for retirement.

Background

A financially secure retirement is out of reach for millions of American workers and small business owners. Retirement savings plans can be costly to operate and challenging to manage, leaving many workers and small business owners without access to a way to save for retirement.

To help workers better prepare for their retirement, AARP is supporting states in their efforts to create and implement a state retirement savings option that would enable businesses to offer employees a way to save out of their regular paycheck. These public–private managed programs would be easy for employers to set up with low costs and low risks to the employer and the state. 

Methodology

Interviews were conducted January 10–16, 2020, among 611 registered voters ages 25–64 in the state of Washington. The sample was drawn from a registered voter list. Half of the interviews were conducted via landline phone and half were conducted via cell phone. All data are weighted by age, gender, and race/ethnicity according to the January 2020 Washington state voter database statistics.

For more information, please contact Lona Choi-Allum at LAllum@aarp.org. For media inquiries, please contact media@aarp.org.