Where a plan's money sits on the glidepath is a measure of its workforce. We compute, for each plan, the asset-weighted average target-date vintage — a plan concentrated in 2030 funds has a workforce much closer to retirement than one in 2055. Rolled up by state, the result is a demographic map derived entirely from fund balances.

The validation is the point: the states this measure calls oldest — Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine — are the oldest states by Census median age, and Utah, which it calls youngest, is the youngest. No demographic data entered the calculation.

Originally posted on LinkedIn.