On Wednesday, May 3, the Senate voted to repeal Obama-era rules paving the way for states to create retirement plans for workers, reports The Hill. Despite this rollback, Oregon plans to move forward with its own plan to provide state-backed savings plan, OregonSaves.
According to NPR, state officials are planning on moving ahead with the plan amongst uncertainty after the Senate’s vote. State treasurer Tobias Read told NPR, “We believe we are safely within the law and we want to take the chance to help working Oregonians.”
Senate Republicans argued that repealing the rule will make it more difficult for states to impose another new mandate on small businesses. They also argued that such state retirement plans would give government sponsored plans a competitive advantage over private sector retirement plan offerings.
“States … are already using this authority to impose new mandates on both large and small employers, including start-up businesses,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, according to The Hill. “Some of the mandates apply regardless of the size of the businesses.”
The pilot program for OregonSaves begins in July, and touts the ability for employees to carry their retirement savings from one employer to the next. Employees are able to opt-out of the plan if their employer enrolls for it, and employer contributions are not allowed.
