Statesman Journal
August 15th, 2014
The state should create a retirement fund available to all employed Oregonians that can follow people as they change jobs, according to a draft report released this month by the Oregon Legislature's Task Force on Oregon Retirement Savings.
The official report will not come out until September, but the draft outlines the plan.
The key elements of a statewide plan would be:
- Availability to anyone employed in Oregon, both full time and part time, no matter the size of the company they work for.
- Deposits into the fund would be automatically deducted from paychecks, but employees could opt out of participating.
- Employers would not be required to contribute anything. However, they would have to provide enrollment paperwork.
- Each employee would have an individual account (akin to a 401(k) or Roth IRA account) with regular statements that would follow them between jobs and employers.
- The accounts would belong in one pooled fund, invested by private fund managers but overseen by a state-appointed board.