Wissel letter: Retirement

Those who do not save enough for retirement risk becoming dependent on social safety net programs.

States are innovating to solve this problem by removing the regulatory and operational barriers for small businesses that want to offer their workers a way to save for retirement. The solution: setting up public-private partnerships known as Secure Choice or Work and Save.

A 2016 Department of Labor rule provides guidance on how states can do this. The rule is clear: Small-business owners do not operate these plans. Their only interaction is to provide information to employees and run the payroll deduction.

The U.S. House voted on and passed H.J. Resolutions 66 and 67, repealing those Department of Labor guidelines. This resolution is opposed by AARP and a broad group of bipartisan lawmakers. The resolution now moves to the Senate.

This represents significant overreach by the federal government. Congress should not block states from innovating solutions to the retirement crisis.

We urge the Senate to listen to the voters and oppose these resolutions: Eight in 10 private sector employees across party lines agree elected officials should do more to make it easier for small businesses to offer retirement plans to their employees.

This story was originally published March 10, 2017 at 7:55 PM with the headline "Wissel letter: Retirement."