May 13 (Bloomberg) — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who may run for president in 2016, said Congress should "secure retirement for 21st century seniors" by raising the retirement age and letting many workers enroll in a federal savings plan.

"The future of retirement in America is very much in doubt," Rubio said in a speech today at the National Press Club in Washington.

Rubio proposed allowing workers whose employers don't offer retirement plans to enroll in the federal Thrift Savings Plan. The federal program, available to members of Congress, is a low- fee 401(k)-type system, the largest in the U.S. by assets, according to the Washington-based Investment Company Institute.

Almost half of Americans are "not at all confident" that they'll save enough for a comfortable retirement, according to a March survey from Washington-based Employee Benefit Research Institute.

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