Hard-Working Hoosiers Need More Retirement Savings Options

By AARP Indiana State Director June Lyle

Paying for the necessities is a stretch for many Hoosiers.  You add in utilities and healthcare and you have the two items on which seniors spend a disproportionate share of their income.  That doesn’t leave much to put toward saving for the future.  In fact, 45 percent of working-age households nationwide have no retirement savings.

Yet there’s a bright spot: when employers offer an opportunity to save for retirement seven out of ten workers choose to participate.  But, those options are often scarce.  More than one million Hoosier workers currently do not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan.

To address this issue, Sen. Greg Walker (R-41) and Rep. Matt Lehman (R-79) have authored the Hoosier Employee Retirement Option (HERO) Plan, House Bill 1279 / Senate Bill 555.  Reps. Sean Eberhart (R-57) and Justin Moed (D-97) are co-authors.  The bill would create a state-approved voluntary savings vehicle for workers who are not offered one at work.

It’s a straightforward – but forward thinking – piece of legislation that provides more retirement-savings options for employees while also providing an opportunity to employers to connect their employees to a retirement plan with less administrative responsibilities and costs.

Let’s look out for our neighbor who is struggling to make ends meet, let alone save for the future.  Let’s look out for those employers who want to offer their employees a way to save for retirement but just can’t.  And, let’s look out for those Hoosiers who work so hard to provide for their families every day, but have little left to provide for themselves in retirement. Let’s pass this bill.