At age 61, Don Watt is trying to save money so he can retire.
He’s working for a property management company while living paycheck to paycheck in senior affordable housing. So there’s little money left over to put into a personal IRA, and his company doesn’t offer a 401(k) or IRA savings plan. Like 216,000 other Hawaii employees, about half of private-sector workers, Watts doesn’t have the option of deducting money from his paycheck to save for retirement.
The Hawaii Legislature is looking at taking the first steps to help people like Watt save and help small businesses provide a simple, inexpensive way to help their workers better prepare for retirement.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 16, SD2 would create a work group to look at ways the state can facilitate retirement savings. States already offer 529 college savings plans, which help parents build a nest egg for their kid’s college expenses. State-facilitated retirement savings plans would work in a similar way.
Research shows voters overwhelming want access to retirement savings at work. An AARP poll taken last year found 84 percent believe lawmakers should do more to make it easier for small business to offer retirement savings and 65 percent support a ready-to-go state retirement savings plan that would help Hawaii residents save through a public-private partnership.
The inability of Hawaii employees to save at work is a major factor in retirement insecurity. About half of Hawaii registered voters between age 35 and 64 say they are behind schedule in saving for retirement, and 59 percent are very or somewhat anxious about having enough money for retirement. Studies show that workers are 15 times more likely to start saving if they can save through payroll deduction.
Hawaii taxpayers have a vested interest in making sure workers have enough money to retire.
Watt hopes he can save enough money to retire by the time he turns 70. But if he gets sick and is unable to continue working, he’ll be in trouble. People without adequate savings will have to live on Social Security, which was never designed to be a person’s sole means of support in retirement. They risk becoming dependent on social safety net programs.
A recent Segal Consulting report estimates that if all states offered retirement savings plans, they would save nearly $5 billion in the first 10 years in reduced Medicaid expenditures. Hawaii would save an estimated $21.1 million and the savings would grow exponentially as retirement savings increased.
William Beadle, who retired in Hawaii after leading a small nonprofit on the mainland, knows why more small businesses don’t offer payroll retirement savings plans. To offer his employees a payroll IRA at his nonprofit in Utah, Beadle had to hire an accountant and financial adviser, and when they didn’t notice a rule in the plan that prohibited nonprofits from participating, he had to take money out of his personal retirement savings to reimburse his employees.
A properly vetted, state-facilitated plan would take most of the cost and burden of offering retirement savings off the back of small organizations.
It would benefit people close to retirement, but would really help millennials. They are likely to go through several jobs in their lifetime and need a retirement plan that can travel with them. Developing a savings habit early will serve them for the rest of their lives and only a small amount saved while young would grow into large savings when they reach retirement age because of compounding.
Give Hawaii workers a chance to achieve their retirement dreams; support SCR16, SD2.
