Edit: The problem is "lack of political will," i.e.. lack of people or corporations willing to hire lobbyists to make it happen.
Edit 2: While we're at it, why not just let everybody make Roth contributions, at least up to the amount one could contribute to an IRA? Let's just get rid of the whole "backdoor Roth" shenanigans and let people contribute directly.
To your point about backdoor Roth shenanigans, they aren't really shenanigans, they are legit and IRS-sanctioned. Shenanigans kind of implies you're doing something morally questionable.
The problems is the various defined contribution schemes were never introduced in a systematic way as you say. 401(k)'s history is particularly unplanned.
The whole insurance system in the US is best described as a real-life re-enactment of The Trial by Franz Kafka.
[1] By not really insurance, I mean that most people with it (especially older people) may consider it a nice perk but it doesn't really protect them from out-of-pockets they can't afford.
Most people live bill to bill, probably more-so those less advantaged.
How many would really be able and or willing to save like that?
Isn't the more simple answer getting rid of this crazy system and profit incentives by nationalizing healthcare?
H. L. Mencken
Not if your spouse works for an employer that offers a 401k.
Do you have a citation for this?
I'll offer a citation from the IRS that strongly suggests (though does not 100% prove) this is not the case:
"Can I set up a SEP for my self-employment income if I participate in my employer's retirement plan?
Yes, you can set up a SEP for your self-employed business even if you participate in your employer's retirement plan at a second job."
That suggests that you can contribute to a SEP even if you yourself are participating in a 401K, let alone if your spouse is merely offered one.
[0] https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-r...
https://www.irs.gov/publications/p560#en_US_2019_publink1000...
It seems only people who are employed by employers that don't offer 401k get screwed if the spouse does have a 401k and you're over certain incomes:
If you are a 1099/gig worker and file your taxes with a schedule C, you’re almost certainly eligible for a SEP-IRA (1). This is way better than a 401k; you can contribute up to 25% of your income (max $57k per year) pretax with all the same investment options as any other retirement plan. Sure, it could be made easier to setup, but it’s been around forever and works. What we need to do is say that if you have an employer who does not provide a [baseline] retirement plan, you are eligible for the SEP-IRA on all income from that employer.
The Covid-19 relief legislation established unemployment assistance for 1099/gig workers with federal backing and administered by the states. This should be kept around, improved, and made sustainable (add a line to the Schedule SE for paying the same kind of unemployment taxes that businesses pay on behalf of employees).
Obamacare allowed for association-based health plans and the Trump administration approved one of them. I don’t recall the details or the current status, but that’s a start in the right direction. Employers pay a lot of money for health plans and their size allows them to negotiate better deals. We need that leverage outside of employers and plenty of other improvements, but at least we have the basics.
This is achievable!
(1) https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-r...