HARTFORD — With the help of Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, Connecticut lawmakers passed legislation creating a retirement savings program for eligible private-sector employees.
The Democratic lieutenant governor broke an 18-18 tie in the Senate Saturday, cementing final legislative approval of a measure first proposed several years ago. It now moves to the governor.
The bill creates an agency that will establish a Roth individual retirement account program for workers whose employers have at least five employees paid at least $5,000 in the preceding year. The employers will be required to automatically enroll each worker, who can opt out.
Proponents say the bill is needed because 600,000 Connecticut workers don’t have access to a workplace retirement program. Opponents say workers can open their own IRAs and the bill creates a burden for employers.
Senate President Martin M. Looney today (D-New Haven) led Senate passage of the legislation.
“Far too many Connecticut residents are approaching retirement without adequate savings. While Social Security has lifted many senior citizens out of abject poverty, it does not in fact provide a decent living for those with no other source of retirement income,” he said in a statement released Saturday. “This problem will become one of extraordinary urgency as more and more children of the baby boom reach retirement age.”
AARP Connecticut State Director Nora Duncan provided the following statement:
“We applaud the Senate leadership for their commitment to providing Connecticut’s 600,000 workers without a workplace retirement savings plan an opportunity to build a secure financial future for their families. We are confident the Governor will also support the bill that adds no additional cost to taxpayers and lead to less reliance on state-funded social safety net services in the future.”
