CalSavers: A Cross-Generational Approach to Addressing Poverty through Public-Private Partnerships

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California has the highest poverty rate in the nation. In fact, the UC Berkeley Labor Center predicts that half of Californians currently working will likely retire with just $24,000 a year in a state with ever increasing living costs – from health care to housing.

The State of California has an imperative to create opportunities for low-income individuals to build and preserve their assets. Yet one of the most significant long-term savings tools needed for retirement, a formalized retirement plan, remains out of reach for many workers.

We know that:

• 7.5 million California workers (about 57%) of private-sector workers in California work for an employer that does not offer a retirement plan. Of those, over 2/3 (almost 5 million) are people of color.
• Access to workplace retirement plans makes individuals 15 times more likely to save for retirement among individuals with incomes between $30k and $50k.
• Among households age 55 and older, nearly one-third have no retirement savings.

The CalSavers Program is a cross-generational approach to address poverty in California, giving almost 7 million private sector workers an opportunity to participate in a workplace retirement savings program and a fighting chance against poverty.

Join us for a discussion about how California is creating better opportunities for retirement savings across generations; which partnerships are critical for the success of CalSavers; and how funders and grantees are collaborating to advance this vital anti-poverty strategy.