National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems

The Voice for Public Pensions

Print Page

Blog

Colorado signs Colorado Secure Choice Savings Program into law


 
NCPERS is happy to announce that legislation to create the Colorado Secure Savings Program for private sector workers was signed into law by Democratic Governor Jared Polis on Tuesday, July 14, 2020.  The bill, SB20-200, was sent to the governor on June 22.

Colorado signs Colorado Secure Choice Savings Program into law

NCPERS is happy to announce that legislation to create the Colorado Secure Savings Program for private sector workers was signed into law by Democratic Governor Jared Polis on Tuesday, July 14, 2020.  The bill, SB20-200, was sent to the governor on June 22.
 
It makes Colorado the latest state to embrace the Secure Choice model for providing retirement savings options to employees who lack access to a retirement plan at work. Eight other states have established programs that foster retirement savings by requiring businesses to auto-enroll workers in payroll deduction plans. Workers have the choice to opt out.
 
The text of the bill notes that more than 900,000 working Coloradans, or about 40 percent of the workforce, work for an employer than doesn't offer a retirement savings account or program.

Younger workers are disproportionately affected, with 48 percent of those between 25 and 29 having no access to a plan; the figures fall only slightly, to 46 percent for those between 30 and 34, and 41 percent for those between 35 and 39. Minority workers in Colorado are also disproportionately affected, with 46 percent African-American workers and 59 percent of Latinx workers lacking access to a retirement program at work. And 69 of Colorado's workers in the lowest 20 percent of income don't have workplace retirement options.
 
The program is expected to be cost-neutral within five years, and eventually businesses with as few as five employers will be mandated to participate.
 
 
 

Comments

There have been no comments made on this article. Why not be the first and add your own comment using the form below.

Leave a comment

Please complete the form below to submit a comment on this article. A valid email address is required to submit a comment though it will not be displayed on the site.

HTML has been disabled but if you wish to add any hyperlinks or text formatting you can use any of the following codes: [B]bold text[/B], [I]italic text[/I], [U]underlined text[/U], [S]strike through text[/S], [URL]http://www.yourlink.com[/URL], [URL=http//www.yourlink.com]your text[/URL]

Contributors