Growing Pool of Gig Workers Left Out of State Retirement Plans

When New York state launches its guaranteed private-sector retirement savings program next year, gig employees and independent contractors won’t be participating, continuing a pattern among states that have enacted similar initiatives and left out atypical workers.

For gig workers in New York City, the exclusion was particularly acute. The city paused its guaranteed private-sector retirement savings program last year to allow the state-sponsored law take effect, eliminating the carve-out for gig workers and independent contractors.

The state and city programs were otherwise nearly identical: Most employers that didn’t already have a workplace pension or 401(k) plan would be required to ...