With close to half of the U.S. w𓂃orking population, or 57 million people, lacking access to an employer-sponsored plan, experts say the retirement system needs to change.

Automatic individual retirement accounts, or auto-IRAs, could be a solution. Auto-IRAs are state-facilitated retirement programs where workers without workplace retirement plans, like 401(k)s, are automatically enrolled.

"Half of workers don't have access to a retirement plan through their employer. And workers are much less likely to save for retirement if they're not saving through a workplace plan," said Tyler Bond, a research director for the National Institute on Retirement Security. "[The state-run auto-IRAs] are meant to close that access gap."

Workers enrolled in auto-IRAs have contributions deducted from each paycheck—although employers cannot make matching contributions. Currently, 17 states offer auto-IRAs, according to the Center for Retirement Initiatives at Georgetown.

Why Are Auto IRAs Needed?

The proportion of the U.S. population that is age 65 or older will grow to 23% by 2050 from 18% currently, according to a recent Apollo Global Management Report.

The problem gets exacerbated because many Americans lack sufficient retirement funds. The average American's 401(k) balance was $132,300 in the third quarter, according to Fidelity data, far less than people 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:hope to save by the time they retire.

"An older population with insufficient retirement assets is going to put a fair amount of pressure on government agencies," said David John, a Senior Strategic Policy Advisor at AARP. Auto-IRAs can relieve some of that strain.

Plus, new Pew data indicates that auto-IRAs don't crowd out private retirement plans—when some states started implementing auto-IRAs, private employers didn't stop offering or adopting their own workplace retirement plans.