AARP honors three Oregon officials for innovation in retirement savings

AARP honored Oregon State Treasurer Ted Wheeler, State Senator Lee Beyer and State Representative Tobias Read as innovators and pioneers in solving America's retirement crisis with "Super Saver Awards.” Nationally more than 55 million people don't have access to retirement savings at work.

More than 600,000 Oregonians currently don't have access to retirement savings - but that will change as Oregon’s passage of HB 2960, which created the Oregon Retirement Savings Board in the office of the State Treasurer.

AARP's Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer Nancy LeaMond said, "AARP’s inaugural class of Super Savers includes those elected officials who were integral to the passage of Work and Save (Retirement Security) plans in 2015. The class includes six state legislators and two state treasurers from three states who helped their residents save for the future." In addition to Oregon, lawmakers in Washington and Illinois were recognized for passing historic retirement security legislation.

State Treasurer Ted Wheeler was a key champion for the bill working closely with AARP Oregon and other advocates. Senator Lee Beyer from Oregon District 6 and Representative Tobias Read from District 27 were the bill’s chief sponsors.

Efforts to help Oregonians save for retirement was a key priority for AARP Oregon the last three years, said Joyce DeMonnin, communications director.

“We hear stories everyday from people of all ages struggling to save for retirement. This is a science-based, elegant solution to help all Oregonians accumulate assets for retirement which will help them individually and reduce demand for costly government services later,” she said. People are 15 times more likely to save for retirement if they can do so at work. These laws will help save taxpayers money by helping fewer people rely on government safety nets, and give older adults more options for living with dignity and choice.

For more information on retirement tools and planning go to http://www.aarp.org/money/money_tools/