T. Rowe Price, a global investment management firm and a leader in retirement, today released new research based on its annual Retirement Savings and Spending survey and analysis of the Census Bureau's 2021 Current Population Survey and found that about half of all workers participate in a retirement plan of some kind. However, when a retirement plan is offered by an employer, participation increases significantly to 88.2%.  

"These findings highlight that the first and most important step toward closing the retirement savings gap is to expand access to retirement plans," said Sudipto Banerjee, vice president, Retirement Thought Leadership at T. Rowe Price. "The retirement industry can act now to help close the gap by encouraging employers to not only sponsor plans but to incorporate plan design levers, such as auto-enrollment and auto-escalation, and by offering financial wellness programs."

As previously reported by T. Rowe Price, Black and Hispanic workers significantly lag in participation and savings compared with white workers, furthering the notion that plan access and plan design can help to close this gap and encourage other positive financial behaviors as well.