American states from Connecticut to California are considering creating new state-run automatic enrolment retirement plans for employees who do not currently have access to savings programmes through their employers, similar to the UK’s National Employment Savings Trust. But they are finding that the path to compulsion is far from smooth.

While no state has yet implemented the new types of auto-enrolment plans, nearly a dozen have bills pending, or passed, or have established task forces to study their potential. Maryland, Illinois, Wisconsin and Oregon are among the states contemplating such plans.