Wyoming Gov. Matthew H. Mead (R) has signed legislation (WY SF 116) creating a retirement income security task force to study the Equality State’s retirement preparedness and retirement savings programs – and the possibility of creating a state-run retirement plan for private-sector workers.
The task force is to be comprised of Wyoming Treasurer Mark Gordon and Ruth Ryerson, director of the state's retirement system (or their designees), as well as several others, including representatives of a Wyoming-based nonprofit, the state’s business community and a Wyoming organization that represents retirees. It will also include a member of the Wyoming Senate and a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives.
The legislation requires the task force to identify, study and make recommendations regarding:
- Retirement preparedness of Wyoming residents including options for private-sector employees who have limited or no access to retirement savings program at their current places of employment.
- Participation rates of employees in employer-sponsored retirement savings plans.
- Programs and incentives that may enhance the retirement security of retirees in Wyoming.
- The financial impact on the state’s social safety net programs and general fund if the state fails to act to improve citizen access to retirement savings opportunities at their places of employment.
The task force will have until Dec. 1, 2018, to submit a report detailing their findings to the joint labor, health and social services interim committee.
As the map above suggests, a growing number of states are not only considering such measures, but moving forward with their implementation. Oregon has launched its auto-IRA program for private sector workers, while California, Illinois, Connecticut and Maryland are in various stages of readiness.
Joseph A. Caruso, III, JD, MSPPM, is Government Affairs Counsel for the American Retirement Association.
