--- title: Should Teenagers Have 401(k)s? These Senators Think So description: New Senate bill aims to lower 401(k) age limit to 18, expanding retirement savings access for young American workers. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 600 covers: - Investing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Katherine Peach role: Associate Editor url: https://money.com/author/katherine-peach/ bio: Katherine Peach is an associate editor with a focus on news and email at Money. She didn’t always intend to write about money. She’s a classically trained pianist who dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. However, in 2007 Katherine began working in financial publishing as an editor for Agora Inc. (Apparently, unearthing ideas about improving your personal finances isn’t such a bad career alternative!) Katherine’s writing and editing work has been featured in Investing Daily, Clever, Investor Junkie, The Palm Beach Letter, Truth & Plenty, Independence Monthly, NICHE, AmericanStyle, AntiqueWeek, Millennial Money, Money Done Right, TheStreet, Sure Dividend and many others. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies with concentrations in Archaeology and Ancient Languages and a minor in Literature from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. education: University of Maryland, Baltimore County at_money_since: 2025 articles: 14 covers: - Investing - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes published: '2025-05-20T16:21:25.000Z' modified: '2025-05-20T16:21:25.000Z' section: Investing tags: - News word_count: 440 canonical: https://money.com/401k-access-young-workers-senate-bill/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo-illustration of a girl holding balloons and coming out of a pile of cash.](https://img.money.com/2025/05/News-401k-18-Year-Olds.jpg) More than [71 million Americans](https://www.hicapitalize.com/capitalize-401k-statistics-tracker/) have access to 401(k) accounts — tax-advantaged retirement plans that allow workers to set aside pre-tax income and watch it grow tax-deferred. But some of the country's youngest workers are left out, and a group of senators wants to fix that. Under current laws, employer-sponsored 401(k) plans *can* be offered to younger workers, but employers often set the minimum age as high as 21. A recently reintroduced [bill](https://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/tam25540pdf.pdf) in the Senate would set the minimum age at 18, requiring employers that offer retirement plans to include their younger employees. The "Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act," reintroduced on May 12 by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R.-La., and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., would revise Internal Revenue Service code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA, to make employer-sponsored 401(k) plans available to employees 18 and up. The change would also apply to other ERISA-governed retirement plans, including some pensions. ## Start building your emergency fund by opening a High-Yield Savings Account from SoFi® ### Secure your financial future now by selecting your state today. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/dd663f6404d0?ap_referrer=%2F401k-access-young-workers-senate-bill%2F) In a [statement](https://www.help.senate.gov/rep/newsroom/press/chair-cassidy-kaine-introduce-legislation-improving-retirement-savings-for-working-americans), Cassidy and Kaine said the bill is meant to expand access to these plans to young workers, arguing that the proposal is crucial, given the importance of [saving for retirement early](https://money.com/retirement-saving-age-1-million/). "Americans who don’t attend college and immediately enter the workforce should be given every chance to save for retirement," Cassidy said. "This legislation empowers American workers, giving them more opportunities to plan for a secure retirement." The bill was previously introduced in November 2023 in the last Congress. Three other Democrats and two other Republicans joined as cosponsors, but it did not advance out of a Senate committee. The lawmakers said the bill would also eliminate "barriers that discourage companies from offering these benefits to younger employees," mentioning "costly provisions that would otherwise make covering younger workers expensive." Namely, the bill would relax rules around mandatory audits for employers extending pension plans to individuals under 21. Supporters of the Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act stress the importance of helping young people get into the routine of making consistent retirement contributions. Early retirement contributions can grow for many decades, supporting a more comfortable retirement for the next generation of savers. Young adults who don't have access to 401(k)s shouldn't let that deter them from saving money when they're able. Most savings and investment accounts do not require you to be 21. Even children can save with [Roth IRAs](https://money.com/what-is-a-roth-ira/) and brokerage accounts if their parents help them open custodial accounts. ### Up to 2-day-early paycheck ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/19227/medium_5c3a0d96-3da5-45d8-8e99-d58f043e9433.png) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/acd6d583e78e?bidid=4068402966&pmeta=p129-c561-u39720&ptid=666227928&ptoken=c7fa39c623f4ed4408889411bc43627f) ### No monthly maintenance fees ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/7510/medium_8a6feaaf-bb2a-4668-a20d-603241767f86.png) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/ba621ee86c6c?bidid=4068402963&pmeta=p129-c561-u39720&ptid=666227928&ptoken=e1f5a6d1a883d5e1367a245a4e73d720) ### Open an account in 5 minutes ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/38558/medium_9a7de13e-ef66-4a9d-9afd-0d742334c0be.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/cc282b41c555?bidid=4068402967&pmeta=p129-c561-u39720&ptid=666227928&ptoken=7300415ea41c171104cd5d38a1ae1f43) ### $500 minimum opening deposit ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/35396/medium_03f248f6-d7f4-4da6-8f13-322fce5d1be2.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/1c02cc23b294?bidid=4068402969&pmeta=p129-c561-u39720&ptid=666227928&ptoken=2f2f1690de941b9e6a834b1035ec91a7) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/19227/medium_5c3a0d96-3da5-45d8-8e99-d58f043e9433.png) With a Savings Account from SoFi®, you can save money while earning it [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/s46e80315d91?ap_referrer=%2F401k-access-young-workers-senate-bill%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/401k-access-young-workers-senate-bill/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Investing", "item": "https://money.com/investing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "News", "item": "https://money.com/tag/news/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Should Teenagers Have 401(k)s? 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She didn’t always intend to write about money. She’s a classically trained pianist who dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. However, in 2007 Katherine began working in financial publishing as an editor for Agora Inc. (Apparently, unearthing ideas about improving your personal finances isn’t such a bad career alternative!)\r\n\r\nKatherine’s writing and editing work has been featured in Investing Daily, Clever, Investor Junkie, The Palm Beach Letter, Truth & Plenty, Independence Monthly, NICHE, AmericanStyle, AntiqueWeek, Millennial Money, Money Done Right, TheStreet, Sure Dividend and many others.\r\n\r\nKatherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies with concentrations in Archaeology and Ancient Languages and a minor in Literature from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. 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