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Since 2022, BlackRock’s Emergency Savings Initiative (ESI) has helped quadruple net new emergency savings from $2 billion to nearly $8 billion and expanded access to these savings solutions to more than 22 million Americans.
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New report from The BlackRock Foundation and Commonwealth details how emergency funds can improve retirement participation, reduce early withdrawals, and support long-term wealth building.
BlackRock’s Emergency Savings Initiative (ESI) has helped generate nearly $8 billion in emergency savings and expanded access to emergency savings solutions to more than 22 million Americans, according to a new BlackRock ESI Impact Report. Supported by The BlackRock Foundation’s $50 million philanthropic commitment, together with nonprofit partner Commonwealth, the initiative has nearly quadrupled net new savings from $2 billion in 2022.
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Since its initial launch in 2019, ESI has stood up more than 60 projects designed to strengthen household financial resilience and address a critical challenge facing American workers. Roughly 40% of U.S. adults are unable to cover a $400 unexpected expense1, leaving many families vulnerable to financial shocks and more likely to tap long-term investments to meet short-term needs.
The report brings together findings from seven years of research, employer pilots, and cross-sector collaboration demonstrating how emergency savings can strengthen retirement outcomes and support long term wealth building. The research finds that people with access to emergency savings are more likely to participate in retirement plans, less likely to withdrawal from retirement savings early, and better able to stay invested and pursue long-term wealth-building goals.
“Too many Americans are forced to choose between managing an unexpected expense today and saving for their future tomorrow,” said Claire Chamberlain, President of The BlackRock Foundation. “Through partnerships and collaborations across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, BlackRock’s Emergency Savings Initiative has helped expand access to savings solutions that strengthen financial stability, protect retirement savings, and help more people build lasting financial security.”
ESI has collaborated with employers, financial institutions, payroll providers, retirement plan providers, and policymakers2 to embed emergency savings tools into the workplace systems Americans already use to manage their financial lives. The workplace has emerged as one of the most effective and scalable channels for helping workers build emergency savings through payroll integration, retirement plans, and employer-sponsored benefits. Collaborators have included The Fresh Market, GXO, Starbucks, Truist Bank, Spruce built by H&R Block, and Voya Financial.
The initiative’s research has also informed landmark policy in the United States—SECURE 2.0’s emergency savings and unexpected expense provisions, including Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (PLESA) and the $1,000 emergency expense withdrawal provision—reflecting growing bipartisan recognition that short-term savings and retirement security work together, rather than compete.
Among the report’s findings:
- Starbucks’ My Starbucks Savings program found that emergency savers had 401(k) contribution rates almost triple those of non-savers.
- Emergency savings can be a gateway to retirement savings. Among participants who weren’t yet saving for retirement, one in five began contributing for the first time after opening an emergency savings account, with more than half starting within four months.
- An employer partner with a large hourly workforce leveraged SECURE 2.0’s $1,000 emergency withdrawal provision to boost 401(k) enrollment among hesitant workers. In a pilot led by its plan recordkeeper, Voya, employees exposed to messaging about the provision were up to 3.5 times more likely to enroll, and 87% of those who took the $1,000 withdrawal continued contributing to their retirement plans.
- Emergency savings can reduce retirement leakage. More than 28% of workers who opened an emergency savings account made a withdrawal from those accounts, helping preserve up to $38 million in retirement assets by reducing early withdrawals.
- The Investor Diaries, a joint research initiative from The BlackRock Foundation and Commonwealth, found that nearly one-third (31%) of retail investors living on low and moderate incomes paused or stopped investing due to financial emergencies.3 Investors living on low-to-moderate incomes with even modest savings—approximately $1,500 to $2,000—were significantly more likely to stay invested.4
“Emergency savings are a critical form of household economic ‘infrastructure,’ acting as a financial ‘shock absorber’ that provides stability, reduces the need for high-cost debt, and prevents financial disruptions from cascading into greater crises,” said Timothy Flacke, CEO of Commonwealth. “Over the past seven years, BlackRock’s Emergency Savings Initiative has helped shift emergency savings from an emerging idea to a recognized pillar of retirement and financial security.”
The report comes as interest in workplace emergency savings continues to grow among both workers and employers. According to findings from BlackRock’s forthcoming annual Read on Retirement® report, 79% of retirement plan participants say they would be interested in contributing to an emergency savings program if it were available through their employer. Employers are taking notice: over the last year, the share of employers that do not currently offer emergency savings options but are considering doing so for retirement plan participants more than doubled, increasing from 8% in 2025 to 17% in 2026.
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