Jeffrey Snyder of the Broadcast Retirement Network discusses the state of Federal Workers’ retirement plans with Craig Copeland of the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Jeffrey Snyder, Retirement Broadcasting Network
Joining me now is Craig Copeland from the Employee Benefits Research Institute. Craig, it’s great to see you. Thanks for joining us this morning.
Oh, thank you for having me. And, you know, I guess for the benefit of the audience, we’ve had Ibrahim before. You, for decades, have given a great deal of research into the details.
So it is an honor to have you in representing the organization. Let’s talk about the latest retirement confidence survey. I’m really interested in those results.
And what can you tell us about how government employees see their retirement prospects? Are they confident?
Craig Copeland, PhD., Center for Employee Benefit Research
They seem less confident in general. It has become common that until this past year many things have changed because the government programs were very good programs compared to what you would see in private companies in many cases. But there’s a little bit of, you know, concern about, you know, how management has been taking different approaches to keeping employees and not keeping employees.
So that has changed comfort recently. But generally, they’re on their way along with anyone who should, you know, be ready to retire. And then if you look at the people in the private sector.
Jeffrey Snyder, Retirement Broadcasting Network
Yes, of course it is understandable. I mean you can’t help but read some of the challenges. I can empathize with that because if I was facing a layoff or a layoff, you know, I would be very worried about my short-term and long-term prospects.
But Craig, there are many advantages when you think about public servants. Some have pensions or many have pensions, but they also have a savings plan, which is like the largest defined contribution plan in the world. So there are a lot of rich retirement benefits available to these people in relation to, you know, their employment.
Craig Copeland, PhD., Center for Employee Benefit Research
That’s right. I mean, you know, they’re going to have it, depending on what plan they’re in, but at least they have some benefit of an annuity payment and a very good defined contribution savings plan that allows them to be better prepared and able to both accumulate assets and have income and what they can get from Social Security for those in the new plan.
Jeffrey Snyder, Retirement Broadcasting Network
Yeah, I mean, maybe, you know, if you’re comparing apples to apples in the private sector, most private sector workers have that kind of 401k car, but they may not have a pension. So that sounds like, that kind of checks my box. I think I want to go work for the federal government now.
You know, if you look at all the different sectors of the economy, I mean, this study looked at government workers, but you mentioned that maybe government workers might feel more confident than private sector or non-profit workers. Is that a true statement?
Craig Copeland, PhD., Center for Employee Benefit Research
Well, I mean, that was exactly going to 2025 when we, you know, took this survey. I think that maybe at 26, the confidence may be a little different, but if we focus on retirement, if we look at their benefits, they seem to be more confident about their benefits than they would have in the private sector because they have both types of benefits, as you just pointed out. There’s still some shaking, you know, stability or, you know, being able to continue in those jobs because a lot of people who work in that area, they’d like to continue in those jobs because they have those benefits that can make them better prepared for retirement and give them that flexibility, they might retire early and do something else because they’ll have that to support asset building as a payment for the income plan.
Jeffrey Snyder, Retirement Broadcasting Network
You know, Craig, retirement has been, it’s been a popular topic for the last few months. First, I think, we use a portion of a 401k or a defined contribution plan that paid for such a home for a little bit of a setback on that. We had the Safeguard Act several years ago, and in the State of the Union, the President talked about having a national 401k type program.
I’m not sure how it will all work out, but your research informs most legislators and regulators. Do you think what’s in the way, you know, just thinking, in terms of retirement that might be, you know, law or regulations? It seems to me that there is a lot of interest in helping Americans secure their retirement.
Craig Copeland, PhD., Center for Employee Benefit Research
However, there are several things, and one of the biggest problems is that there are still only, you know, 50 to 60, if you go to access, maybe 70 percent can access the program. So, you have a large percentage of workers who don’t have access to the system, and that’s the idea behind what President Trump said in the State of the Union to talk to those people who didn’t have access to the system. And how they’re going to do that is still, you know, up in the air, but there are skills to help people save and use the savings matching that’s been built into the savings plan that was passed a few years ago that will get more savings to low-wage workers.
So, there’s really that hope of getting that portion of, you know, a quarter to a half that’s not in the program or doesn’t have the ability to save more money to build on what they might have from Social Security.
Jeffrey Snyder, Retirement Broadcasting Network
Yeah, I mean, as a guy who’s been in this industry as long as you, you know, three decades, I’ve seen the movement that’s been repeated, and I’m happy because this is a high-profile issue. And just thinking about the retirement confidence survey, it seems that most Americans know about the need to save for retirement. So, it’s not lost on them, you know, in every class, every part of the economy that they need to save.
It really is the way, isn’t it? I mean, that’s what you took away from the survey results?
Craig Copeland, PhD., Center for Employee Benefit Research
Yeah, I mean, you see people know they need to do it. It’s one thing, but making that decision about where to get their money is another important part. I mean, because there’s still the problem of not being able to pay to some degree, you know, people, you know, $30,000, $40,000, or $50,000 in income, it’s very difficult, you know, to cover, you know, normal expenses and save on top of that.
So, it’s really trying to deal with all those problems of getting people to know how to do it, getting the discipline to do it, and helping those who don’t have the least ability to save.
Jeffrey Snyder, Retirement Broadcasting Network
Craig, before I let you go, would you like to tease me a little? You guys have a lot of research coming out. What kind of plate about what we should be thinking about or hearing about from EBRI in the coming weeks and months?
You know, I talked about financial information with some of your colleagues. I would think long-term care, maintenance, those are things that are coming up on the radar screen.
Craig Copeland, PhD., Center for Employee Benefit Research
Yes, I mean, next year’s research on self-confidence in retirement, we will be looking at caregivers because that is a growing challenge for people, especially people in the sandwich generation taking care of children and their parents. We’ve looked at, you know, what’s happening in 401k plans and the biggest thing and we’re seeing a lot of problems is that their funds are outside of their 401k plan or their savings plan and how that affects what they can save. And that kind of gets us into potential health funds so that those funds can be structured to be better suited to save if they get all their money right.
Jeffrey Snyder, Retirement Broadcasting Network
Yes, it’s a great study and I hope this informs key decision makers in the private and public sectors to draw the appropriate levels to get more people saving for our retirement. And look, we will live longer, saving for our financial future. Craig, we’ll have to leave it at that.
Great research as always. Thanks for joining us. We look forward to having you back on the show again soon, sir.
Craig Copeland, PhD., Center for Employee Benefit Research
That’s right. Thank you for being with me.
This story was originally published by TheStreet on March 3, 2026, where it appeared first in the Retirement category. Add TheStreet as a favorite source by clicking here.
