In recent times, more and more Americans are falling behind on their retirement savings. This situation could be worse for workers in the gig economy.
With companies like Lyft and Uber going public, the gig industry’s economic growth has reached an all-time high. toutefois, there is a strong resistance by these companies to meet with their worker’s demands for full-time employment and benefits. Ce, according to Chad Parks, Founder, and CEO of Ubiquity Retirement + Savings “has the potential” to worsen the retirement crisis.
Parks stated that “To the best of our knowledge, ride-share companies have not formalized retirement savings options for their drivers,…in today’s world where most companies have abandoned pension plans and Social Security provides a very small portion of your retirement income, it puts the onus squarely on you to save for your future. It’s unfortunate, but this is the reality.”
According to a report by MBO Partners, Il y a environ 16 million workers in the gig industry. Most of which are freelancers who are using these extra hours driving as a side hustle. Par exemple, during the government shutdown, quite a number of federal workers took on driver jobs to support themselves during the trying times.
toutefois, full-time drivers of Lyft and Uber have to deal with the lack of proper health insurance or retirement savings plan with an average hourly wage of $9.21.
Itis however quite unfortunate that these freelance drivers are not paying as much attention to retirement plans as they ought to. Founder of TheRideshareGuy.com, Harry Campbelstated this but added that it is “a function of the fact that nearly all of their pay is going to cover the day-to-day expenses.”
Though UBER has offered a retirement savings option for its driers (the result of a partnership with a robo-advisor called Betterment), doubts still hang in the air.
On an online forum for Uber drivers called Uberpeople, a driver stated, “I wouldn’t involve Lyft or Uber with my retirement planning. Odds are you’re not going to be working for them for very long, at least in the present form.”
Another called it a “sick joke.”
Here is Campbell’s take on this: “The betterment partnership was a lot more fluff than substance, in my opinion, seeing as Uber didn’t contribute any money to the plan. A lot of drivers are struggling to get by as evidenced by the recent strikes and protests against Uber, donc, unfortunately, saving for retirement is the last thing on their mind.”
Malheureusement, since they don’t have an established employer, the system doesn’t do much for gig workers.
“The financial services industry is misaligned with the realities of the modern workplace, such as companies like Uber with a strong force of independent contract workers,” said Parks. “You can’t rely upon the government or your employer to take care of your retirement savings.”
toutefois, Parks, Ubiquity Retirements + Savings CEO preferred three solutions for gg workers wh are in search of a means to save for retirement: a traditional IRA plan, a Roth IRA plan, and an individual 401(K) plan.
The traditional IRA plan is good for those over 40. The second option is better for drivers who have not reached their forties. These two would be tax-deferred. The last option. ,the individual 401(K) plan is best for high earners.