The National Institute on Retirement Security has recently published a report on the retirement outlook for Millennials, and the findings are ugly! The deeply troubling truth is that 66% of this cohort have saved nothing.

According to the NIRS report, “one-third of this generation actually participates in employer-sponsored plans despite the fact that two-thirds of Millennials work for employers that offer retirement plans.”  Most troubling to us is the fact that “the eligibility requirements set by employers, which keep 45% of working Millennials out of plans, drives this coverage gap rather than workers choosing not to save for retirement.”

That last point is shocking to us. Given the terrible state of our retirement system for current workers across the age spectrum, why are businesses creating barriers that make saving for retirement even more difficult? We know that most American’s who are participating in company-sponsored plans are not saving enough, but at least they are starting the process. Setting up impediments to participation is just wrong!