The Oregon State House of Representatives approved a bill on June 24 that would create a task force to develop recommendations for establishing an “Oregon Secure Retirement Plan” to offer retirement investment plans to individuals. Unlike the legislation passed in California last year, the Oregon bill outlines a state-run program that simply would compete with private providers without expanding coverage by requiring employers to offer a workplace retirement plan.
While the measure cleared the Oregon House of Representatives by a 33-25 margin, it still needs to be approved by the State Senate and signed into law by Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) — and time has almost run out, since the Oregon State House and Senate are scheduled to end their legislative year on June 28.
Should the bill become law, the recommendations developed by the task force are due back to the appropriate committees in the Oregon Legislative Assembly by Sept. 1, 2014. ASPPA opposes the legislation on the grounds that the state should not even study entering into competition with private providers in the current marketplace.
The outline of the study in the Oregon retirement bill is very different than the California retirement bill that was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) in the fall of 2012 and is supported by ASPPA. The legislation in California is a state-based “auto-IRA” program that would require employers with five or more employees to offer a workplace retirement plan, which could be any type of qualified plan or an automatic payroll deduction IRA program through a private provider. The California bill establishes a state-run IRA program as a default program for employers who do not choose a private provider. An employer can set up an arrangement with a private provider at any time, and there will be a website giving employers information on interested providers. Implementation of the California program is subject to a feasibility study, and will require authorization from the legislature to actually become operational.
Andrew J. Remo is ASPPA’s Congressional Affairs Manager.
