To address these workers’ retirement insecurity effectively, it’s imperative that we recognize an uncomfortable truth: When it comes to retirement investing, the deck is stacked against most American workers. Private investments have outperformed the S&P 500 across 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-year periods. Private investments already operate under comprehensive frameworks that include quarterly performance reporting, mandatory annual audits and rigorous scrutiny of adviser conflicts. Polling consistently shows broad public support for this expansion, with majorities of major demographics agreeing that private investments can help workers build wealth. Fixing it requires giving workers access to the same tool kit available to public-sector pension managers and wealthy investors.

Source: Washington Post April 09, 2026 17:32 UTC