HB15 1235 – Colorado Retirement Security Taskforce

Sponsors: Representatives Buckner and Pettersen and Senators Steadman and Todd

Read the bill in its entirety by clicking here.

What the bill does: The Colorado Retirement Task Force bill creates a task force comprised of experts that will study the factors affecting Coloradans ability to save for retirement, make recommendations for increasing the number of Coloradans working in the private sector saving for their retirement and assess the feasibility of creating a Secure Savings Program.

Why we need this bill: For decades, Americans have built their retirement with traditional pensions, Social Security and personal savings. Saving through a workplace retirement plan is the easiest and best way for most workers to save, yet almost half of Colorado private sectors workers currently do not have any type of retirement savings plan at work.

Consider the facts:

  • 45% of Colorado’s private-sector workers or 765,717 Coloradans have no retirement savings plan at work.
  • Younger workers are disproportionately affected. 53% of Colorado workers aged 25 -29 and 47% of those aged 30-34 have no retirement savings plan at work.
  • About 8 out 10 Coloradans working in small businesses have no workplace retirement plan – 75% of those in businesses with less than 50 employees and 81% of workers in firms with less than 11 employees have no workplace plan.
  • 74% of Colorado’s lowest paid workers have no retirement plan at work.
  • 58% of Hispanic, 47% of African American and 46% of female workers in Colorado have no retirement plan at work.

Coloradans need to save more for their retirements. Adequate savings can mean the difference between making ends meet in retirement or living in poverty and depending on public assistance.

How a Secure Savings Plan works:

  • Workers can save a portion of their wages through a simple, opt-out payroll deduction
  • Savings plan is portable – can be taken from job to job in Colorado
  • Investments are professionally managed and fees are capped
  • Helps small business owners provide their employees with access to a retirement savings plan
  • Makes it saving easier for Coloradans who are self-employed, on contract or working multiple jobs

How the bill works:

It creates, bi-partisan appointed task force comprised of 15 experts directed to accomplish two tasks:

  1. Study and report on the factors that affect Coloradan’s ability to save for a financially secure retirement. It shall consider: the barriers people face in saving for retirement, access to and types of employer sponsored retirement plans, how much Colorado would save on public assistance if more Coloradans have adequate retirement savings, estimates of the amount of retirement savings Coloradans currently have and the amounts needed for a financially secure retirement.
  1. Study and report on the feasibility of creating a Secure Savings Plan for private sector employees. A public private effort that would: pool all employee contributions, hold them in trust and invest them; provide for professional management of the investments; be portable between jobs in Colorado; include options to disburse retirement benefits through a lifetime annuity and shield the state and employers from any financial obligation or liability.

The task force will begin its work by August 1, 2055, report on the factors affecting Coloradans’ ability to save for retirement by March 1, 2016 and report on the feasibility of creating a Secure Saving Plan for private sector workers by September 20, 2106.

The work of the Task Force will provide legislators, other policy makers and Coloradans with solid information on the problem and solutions for helping Coloradans better save for a financially secure retirement.

 

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