Sen. Hatch’s Pension Bill Gets Straight A’s

The Urban Institute, a left-leaning think tank, has given “straight A’s” to a conservative U.S. Senator’s retirement savings legislation. The Secure Annuities for Employee (SAFE) Retirement Act (S. 1270), authored by Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), recently received “straight A” grades on seven separate criteria under the Institute’s new grading model that was developed to analyze public pension plans. 

To date, the Hatch pension plan is the only one in the country to have received straight A’s across the board. 

The Urban Institute’s report card grades plans based on how much retirement income they provide to both short- and long-term government employees, whether they enhance the capacity of governments to recruit and retain a productive workforce, and whether they are setting aside enough funds to finance promised benefits. 

The grading system considers seven criteria:
(1) rewarding younger workers; 
(2) promoting a dynamic workforce; 
(3) encouraging work at older ages; 
(4) retirement income for short-term employees; 
(5) retirement income for long-term employees; 
(6) making required contributions; and 
(7) funding ratio. 

The SAFE Retirement Act, which supporters say is designed to streamline current pension programs by providing states, employers and American workers with stronger tools for providing pensions and to better secure retirement savings, received an “A” grade in every category.

The SAFE Retirement Act was also cited in a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing on retirement policy by Scott Betts, Senior Vice President, National Benefit Services, for provisions that address the complexities in the current retirement system structure that can be an impediment to the adoption of retirement plans by small employers. Read our report on the hearing here.