Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives

What Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives does

The Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives (CRI) is a research center housed within Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy in Washington, D.C., focused on retirement savings policy at the state and federal levels. CRI tracks state auto-IRA programs (covering 22 programs, 17 open as of June 30, 2026, with $3.31 billion in total assets and 1.3+ million funded accounts), Pooled Employer Plans ($20+ billion in assets, 1.6 million participants, 51,000+ adopting employers by end of 2024), federal legislative and executive-branch proposals including the April 2026 TrumpIRA Executive Order, ERISA-related developments, and international retirement-policy comparisons. Its outputs are policy reports, working papers, journal publications, state briefs, model legislation, a podcast, and syndicated blog content (CRI, MarketWatch, Forbes), distributed through an annual Summit, Policy Innovation Forum, SRSPN Conference, webinars, newsletters, and social media.

The organization describes itself as a 100% self-funded, independent think tank that does not sell commercial products. Revenue mechanics consist of philanthropic donations and a supporter membership that grants access to the exclusive State Resource Center, with no publicly disclosed pricing, revenue, or headcount figures. CRI serves four primary segments: state governments and policymakers (primary), the research community and academics (primary), federal policymakers, and employers/plan sponsors — the latter two as secondary audiences that consume its tracking and analysis outputs.

Name

Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives

Legal name

Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives

Website

https://cri.georgetown.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives is a self-funded, non-partisan policy think tank that tracks and analyzes U.S. state auto-IRA programs, Pooled Employer Plans, and federal retirement-savings policy for state governments, federal policymakers, researchers, and employers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retirement Policy Research

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Civic and Social Organizations (81341), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pensions & Retirement Benefits Administration (BPAIAKAA), Education Policy Research Institutes & Think Tanks (EDADADAA), Employer Retirement Plan Advisory (401(k)/Pension) (FSAEABAE)

Keywords

• Retirement policy research
• State auto-IRA programs
• Pooled employer plans
• Retirement savings policy
• Think tank publications

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Self-funding and donations: The Center for Retirement Initiatives is a 100% self-funded, independent think tank. Funding comes from donations and supporter contributions.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Georgetown Center for Retirement Initiatives is an independent think tank within Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy that researches and analyzes state and federal retirement savings policy. It produces policy reports, working papers, journal publications, state-level performance data on auto-IRA programs and Pooled Employer Plans, federal legislative tracking, international comparisons, podcasts, blogs, and newsletters. It also convenes stakeholders through the Annual Summit, SRSPN Conference, Policy Innovation Forum, and webinars, while offering a paid Supporter membership tier with exclusive access to detailed state legislative updates.

Product overview

The Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives (CRI) is an independent think tank focused on retirement security research and policy analysis. CRI does not offer a software product in the traditional sense; instead, it provides research publications, state-level data tracking, policy analysis, and educational resources related to state retirement savings programs (such as Auto-IRAs, state-run retirement plans, and pooled employer plans). The organization publishes policy reports, working papers, state program data, and hosts events including conferences and webinars.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CRI Supporter Membership Paid membership tier providing exclusive access to the State Resource Center, detailed state legislative activity updates, and supporter-only content on retirement savings policy. Designed for state governments, policymakers, employers, and stakeholders needing comprehensive legislative tracking.
• CRI Annual Summit Annual flagship conference convening state government officials, federal policymakers, employers, plan providers, and researchers to discuss retirement savings policy. Open registration event.
• State Retirement Savings Plan Network (SRSPN) Conference Conference for the State Network of state retirement savings program administrators and stakeholders, focused on operational and policy issues for state auto-IRA and similar programs.
• Policy Innovation Forum Forum event focused on policy innovation in retirement savings, gathering federal and state policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders to advance the policy agenda.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Bipartisan Policy Center: BPC develops bipartisan policy solutions including on retirement. Comparable to CRI in convening stakeholders and producing reform-oriented policy analysis, though with a broader policy portfolio.
• Aspen Institute — Financial Security Program: Aspen's Financial Security Program focuses on household financial well-being and retirement. Comparable to CRI's mission-driven policy and convening role, with adjacent (broader) financial security lens.

Direct peers

• National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS): Nonprofit research and education organization dedicated to promoting retirement security. Direct peer to CRI given overlapping focus on state and federal retirement policy research and stakeholder convening.
• Pew Charitable Trusts — Retirement Savings Project: Pew's Retirement Savings Project conducts evidence-based research on state and federal retirement policy. Comparable to CRI's policy research and state program tracking focus, with broader philanthropic backing.
• Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI): Nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute focused on health, retirement, and economic security. Highly comparable to CRI as an independent policy research organization producing data-driven retirement policy analysis.

Broad incumbents

• Urban Institute — Retirement Policy Program: Urban Institute studies retirement security with rigorous empirical methods. A larger policy research institution whose retirement program has direct topical overlap with CRI's research agenda.
• Brookings Institution — Retirement Initiative: Brookings conducts economic and retirement policy research as part of its broader agenda. Larger, more diversified think tank with overlapping interest in retirement savings policy.
• AARP Public Policy Institute: AARP's policy research arm produces retirement security research and analysis with national reach. Broader incumbent with member-driven scale but overlapping retirement-policy research mandate.

Others

• Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR): University-affiliated economic policy research institute that has produced research on retirement and household savings. Comparable academic affiliation and policy research model, though not specialized in retirement.
• American Enterprise Institute — Economic Policy Studies: AEI conducts economic and retirement policy research with a market-oriented perspective. Thematically adjacent to CRI given overlapping retirement policy coverage, though ideologically distinct and broader in scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cri_states
• Facebookfacebook.com/GeorgetownCRI
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/georgetown-university-mccourt-school-of-public-policy's-center-for-retirement-initiatives

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives