Responding to the lack of access to work-site retirement plans, Illinois became the latest state to propose a mandatory retirement plan for private-sector employers. The “Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program” would be a portable IRA-like plan mandatory for all companies with 25 or more employees that have been in existence for at least two years. Of note, the program would include automatic enrollment.
State Sen. Daniel Bliss, D-Evanston, told Evanston Now, “We know that automatic enrollment is the only way to ensure that workers, particularly those in low-wage occupations, don’t retire into abject poverty. Establishing these portable, low-risk accounts is the most efficient and least intrusive way to help hard-working Illinois residents safeguard the dignity of their later years.”
ASPPA/NAPA CEO and Executive Director Brian Graff stated, “The action in Illinois, similar to the legislation in California, and similar bills being considered in almost a dozen other states reflects the rapidly increasing concern that too many Americans lack access to a workplace retirement plan. NAPA has been actively involved in Illinois, as well as other states active on this issue, to make sure that if legislation moves forward, the private retirement plan industry can continue to play a prominent role.”
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Fred Barstein is NAPA Net's Editor in Chief.
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