OregonSaves - State Required Retirement

Earlier this year Oregon released updates on the state mandated employee benefits program phasing in for private sector business owners over the next 24 months.

The date that employers must either register with OregonSaves, or file a certificate of exemption verifying they provide an alternative qualified retirement savings plan, is dictated by the size of the employer's workforce as outlined below:

• 100 or more employees - November 15, 2017
• 10 to 99 employees - May 15, 2018
• 5 to 9 employees - November 15, 2018
• 4 or fewer employees - May 15, 2019

The trend for additional states to implement required employee retirement savings programs is anticipated to continue. 

With the ongoing concerns about retirement readiness of the private sector workforces, as well as in response to employees demanding retirement benefit programs, more states are expected to outline employer sponsored savings program mandates. 

Above & Beyond Retirement fully supports the push for employees to have access to a work place retirement savings account; company sponsored employee benefit programs, like the flexible and powerful 401(k) Plan, have an established record of success. 

Whether the "state mandated" options will be equally beneficial for many employers remains to be seen as these programs are rolled out.

Other states that are actively working toward implementing some form of required employee retirement benefit programs include: California, Connecticut, Illinois, and Maryland.  Plus, there are approximately 16 other states that have introduced legislation in the recent past that may also come to fruition soon.

Above & Beyond Retirement highly recommends that all employers who do not currently offer a deferred compensation retirement benefit to employees consult a qualified retirement planning service provider or independent TPA to compare the pros and cons of implementing a qualified plan versus a state program.