Voters in Philadelphia have cleared the way for a new program aimed at helping workers build retirement savings.
PhillySaves will automatically enroll eligible workers in a payroll deduction individual retirement account, or IRA. The program is expected to help more than 200,000 employees who do not have access to retirement options through work.
Jessica Eckman, government affairs director for AARP, said research shows people are much more likely to save when the process is simple and automatic. She said PhillySaves will help workers start building financial security for the future.
“What’s important to know, it’s easy, it’s low-cost for these workers,” Eckman said. “They can change their investments, their contribution levels. They can opt out at any time. It’s completely voluntary for workers.”
PhillySaves follows a growing national trend. Similar auto-IRA programs have been established in 17 states. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, 12 of those programs helped people accumulate nearly $2.7 billion in retirement savings by the end of 2025.
Philadelphia is creating a nine-member board to oversee PhillySaves. The program is set to begin in 2027.
Eckman said voter support for PhillySaves also strengthens the case for a statewide retirement savings option known as Keystone Saves. The proposal, House Bill 1263, would create an automatic IRA program for all Pennsylvania workers.
The measure has advanced in the state House but has not yet received a vote in the Republican-controlled Senate.
“A statewide program would really extend these benefits to those 2 million Pennsylvanians without access at work and really create a scalable, efficient way to improve retirement readiness and also reduce future economic strain on families and public resources,” Eckman said.
Eckman said there is also growing bipartisan interest in establishing an automatic IRA program at the federal level. She said the proposals reflect a broad belief that the savings crisis can be addressed.
She also pointed to an order on retirement security signed by President Donald Trump in April as a sign of progress.
“So it directs the Treasury Department to create a central website, a sort of marketplace where workers without a workplace retirement plan can compare existing private sector IRAs and enroll on their own,” Eckman said.
Roughly 56 million private-sector employees work for an employer that does not offer either a traditional pension or a retirement savings plan, according to AARP.
Source: Public News Service
