Policy design and management issues for state retirement saving plans (William G. Gale, David C. John, Brookings)

Many American workers do not have access to employer-sponsored payroll deduction plans for retirement saving. Groups with low rates of access include younger workers, members of minority groups, and those with low-to-moderate incomes. Small business employees are especially at risk. Only about 14 percent of businesses with 100 or fewer employees offer their employees a retirement plan, leaving between 51 and 71 percent of the roughly 42 million people who work for a small business without access to an employer-administered plan (Government Accountability Office 2013).

http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2016/03/18-policy-design-management-issues-state-retirement-saving-gale

You get what you pay for: Guaranteed returns in retirement saving accounts (William G. Gale, David C. John, Bryan Kim, Brookings)

The sharp downturn in the value of financial assets between 2007 and 2009 serves as a pointed example of how risky assets can quickly lose significant value. This experience, coupled with continuing concerns about retirement security, has generated new interest in the idea of having the government provide minimum rate-of-return guarantees for retirement savings accounts.

http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2016/03/14-guaranteed-returns-in-retirement-saving-accounts-gale