Senate Passes the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program

On a vote of 31-22-2, the Illinois Secure Choice Program (SB2758) passed out of the Illinois Senate today. The bill will give millions of private sector workers the opportunity to save their own money for retirement by expanding access to employment-based retirement savings account.

More than 2.5 million workers do not have access to a retirement savings account through their employer, according to a report from Woodstock Institute. The report found lack of access is most serious for low-wage workers, of whom 60 percent lack access, but even for workers making $40,000 or more, 49 percent do not have access to an employment-based retirement savings plan. In every Senate district in Illinois, over half of private-sector workers do not have access to this type of plan.

SB2758, sponsored by Senator Daniel Biss, will automatically enroll workers without access to an employer-based retirement plan into the Secure Choice program. While workers can opt-out of the program, those that do participate will be able to build savings in an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) through a payroll deduction.

“We’re facing a looming retirement security crisis: 2.5 million Illinois workers lack access to employer-sponsored retirement plans. Unless we act now to help give Illinois residents the tools to save, the number of retirees living in poverty will continue to grow,” said Senator Biss. “The Secure Choice program will have a minimal impact on the state and participating businesses, but the effect for workers will be the difference between a retirement in dignity and a retirement in poverty.”

The bill will now move to the House where Representative Barbara Flynn Currie will be the Chief Sponsor. She is the current sponsor of the companion bill, HB4595.

“The Secure Choice Savings Program makes it easy for Illinois workers to save without burdening employers or the state,” Representative Currie said. “This is a bill that every legislator who cares about the retirement security of Illinois workers should vote for.”

The Illinois Asset Building Group (IABG) is advocating, along with its partners, for the passage of the Illinois Secure Choice Program. “Secure Choice provides workers an easy way to save their own money for retirement,” said Lucy Mullany, Coordinator of IABG and a Senior Policy Associate with Heartland Alliance. “We thank the Senate for taking a big step towards stronger retirement security for Illinois workers and look forward to working with Members of the House to pass this legislation out of the General Assembly.”

The Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program is supported by IABG, Heartland Alliance, Woodstock Institute, the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, SEIU Healthcare, AARP Illinois, and over 45 organizations and businesses across the state.

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