The National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS) released the following statement from Hank Kim, Esq., Executive Director and Counsel, on enactment of the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Plan:
NCPERS Executive Director and Counsel Hank Kim, Esq. announcing the Secure Choice Pension proposal at a news conference in Washington, DC in September 2011 (Photo: Business Wire)
“We applaud Gov. Pat Quinn for making Illinois a leader in addressing the retirement security crisis that faces millions of American private-sector workers and will impact not just individual retirement security, but future government revenues and the country’s overall economic well being. By signing State Senator Daniel Bliss’s legislation into law, Gov. Quinn made possible a public-private partnership that will make an at-work retirement saving program available to millions of Illinois workers who have no coverage. It will also meet the needs of small business owners who otherwise would not be able to afford retirement plans for their employees. All of this with no cost – and no financial risk – to Illinois taxpayers.
“Illinois follows California and Connecticut, which have already enacted laws creating retirement savings plans modeled on NCPERS’ Secure Choice Pension proposal. Both of those states’ laws require feasibility studies, which are now underway, before their Secure Choice retirement plans take effect. The Illinois law takes effect this June and its Secure Choice plan will begin operating in 2017, after a two-year setup period.
“It is our hope that more states will view the Illinois, California and Connecticut actions the same way the New York Times and the Economic Policy Institute do – as a national model for bringing a crucial level of retirement security to private-sector workers who have no access to a retirement savings plan. We look forward to working with policymakers in other forward-thinking states to create similar programs.
“With a national private-sector retirement savings deficit estimated at $14 trillion, there can be no doubt about the dimensions of the retirement security crisis America is facing. And with millions of Baby Boomers aging into retirement each year with insufficient retirement assets, there is precious little time to waste in implementing a viable solution.”
About NCPERS
The National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS) is the largest trade association for public sector pension funds, representing more than 550 funds throughout the United States and Canada. It is a unique non-profit network of public trustees, administrators, public officials and investment professionals who collectively manage nearly $3 trillion in pension assets. Founded in 1941, NCPERS is the principal trade association working to promote and protect pensions by focusing on advocacy, research and education for the benefit of public sector pension stakeholders.
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