2018 Wisconsin Retirement Security Survey

Wisconsin registered voters ages 25 and older are anxious about having enough money for retirement and concerned that health care expenses and cost of living expenses will negatively impact those savings. While many Wisconsin registered voters have access to and contribute to an employer retirement savings plan, one in seven (15%) say they their employer doesn't offer a way to save for retirement.

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This AARP Survey gauged the opinions of registered voters in Wisconsin about a proposed state retirement savings program intended to provide a managed way to save for retirement for workers who do not have access to an employer savings plan. Data from the survey shows that most Wisconsin registered voters, regardless of their access to an employer sponsored retirement savings plan, would support this program. Moreover, most agree that lawmakers in Wisconsin should support this program.

Key findings include:

• Most support (strongly: 38%; somewhat: 40%) a private-public managed state retirement savings option.
• Most agree (strongly: 56%; somewhat: 32%) elected officials in Wisconsin should support a state retirement savings program.
• One in seven (16%) Wisconsin registered voters have no way to save for retirement at work and most (very: 55%; somewhat: 27%) of them would join an available state savings program.

This AARP 2018 Wisconsin Retirement Security Survey was a telephone study among 500 registered voters age 25-64 in Wisconsin on retirement savings issues. Interviews were conducted August 10 through August 22, 2018. The sample was drawn from a registered voter list. Half (50%) of the interviews were conducted via landline phone and half (50%) via cell phone. All data are weighted by age and gender according to July 2018 Wisconsin voter database statistics. For more information, contact Jennifer Sauer at jsauer@aarp.org. For media inquiries, contact media@aarp.org.