AARP APPLAUDS ASSEMBLY VOTE ON SB 1234 (De León) SECURE CHOICE CALIFORNIA RETIREMENT SAVINGS PROGRAM: Program One Step Closer to Getting Through the Legislature

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SACRAMENTO – Today, AARP applauded the vote on the Assembly Floor (52-26) passing the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Act (Senate Bill 1234), introduced by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De León, back to the Senate for concurrence. AARP strongly supports SB 1234, which, if passed out of concurrence and signed by Governor Brown, would create an auto-enrolled, supplemental retirement savings program for more than 7 million private sector workers in California who do not have access to a retirement savings plan through their job.

“We thank the members of the California State Assembly who joined their Senate counterparts in voting for SB 1234,” said AARP California Director of Advocacy, Blanca Castro. “We are moving one step closer to making sure the two-thirds of Californians who have been closed off to retirement savings accounts, finally get to open that door and access a simple way to build their assets over time. Secure Choice California would help make it easier for people to save and build up economic security.”

The Assemblymembers who voted Yes on SB 1234 included Assemblymembers Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, C. Garcia, E. Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hernandez, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O’Donnell, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Santiago, Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, and Speaker Anthony Rendon.

SB1234’s Secure Choice program has been called “a national model for promoting retirement savings” by the New York Times. The Los Angeles Times said that “when added to Social Security benefits, the money would help keep more retirees out of poverty and off public support.”   The Sacramento Bee added, “Democrats and Republicans lament the plight of the working poor. Now legislators have a golden opportunity to give those individuals a hand at minimum cost.”

AARP shares the goal of Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De León and California State Treasurer John Chiang of creating a workplace retirement savings plan that is safe, simple, and portable. For more information, visit www.SecureChoiceCA.aarp.org.

About AARP AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million, that helps people turn their goals and dreams into real possibilities, strengthens communities and fights for the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare, employment and income security, retirement planning, affordable utilities and protection from financial abuse. We advocate for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name as well as help our members obtain discounts on a wide range of products, travel, and services.  AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates. The AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. AARP has staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more at www.aarp.org