Half of Americans lack access to a retirement plan. Here are the worst states.

Fewer than half of American workers qualify for a retirement plan through their job. But that lack of access is markedly worse in some states, which researchers warn could face a spike in senior poverty as a result, according to new study. 

About 69 million workers, or 56% of the nation's workforce, lack access to a retirement plan through their workplace, the Economic Innovation Group found in its analysis of 2021 Census data. The share is highest in Florida, where almost 7 in 10 workers are unable to put money away in an employer-sponsored plan, and lowest in Iowa, where it is about 4 in 10.

Americans' retirement readiness is cleaved by income and profession, with higher-income households far more likely to have socked away funds for their later years than low-wage workers. But there's also a geographic divide, with workers in the South less likely than those in the Midwest to have access to employer-sponsored plans, the analysis found.