(WHTM) — Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacey Garrity and The Pew Charitable Trusts highlighted Pennsylvania’s looming $17.8 billion fiscal shortfall in a meeting that focused on the Commonwealth’s lack of retirement savings.

A new report from The Pew Charitable Trusts says the insufficient funds will cost taxpayers nearly $18 billion over the next 15 years.

Taxpayers’ money is on the line partially because in 2035 nearly 25 percent of Pennsylvania’s population will be 65 or older, and many of them won’t have any retirement savings to fall back on.

As a result, Pennsylvania will have to increase spending on social services on top of lost tax revenue.

“One big thing we can do is address the retirement savings crisis. We need a simple, business-friendly way to help hardworking Pennsylvanians save for retirement. I want to be very clear. We’re not talking about a government handout. We’re talking about establishing a program that makes it easy for people to save their own money,” Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity said.

The program, an IRA retirement account, could be crucial to solving the problem, according to Garrity. The program would automatically enroll workers without access to employer-based benefits.

“I want to be very clear, we’re not talking about a government handout, we’re talking about establishing a program that makes it easy for people to save their own money,” Garrity said.

Garrity said if Pennsylvanians can save, taxpayers won’t have to foot the bill.