Oregon is kicking retirement savings up a notch.
While a number of states have established (or are planning to establish) government-sponsored retirement plans for small businesses that do not currently cover workers, the Beaver State announced its OregonSaves retirement program will allow “individual Oregonians, such as self-employed or gig economy workers, to join and start saving for a better retirement.”
OregonSaves began with a pilot program in July 2017 and is expanding statewide in “waves.”
Since the first wave of the program launched in November 2017, workers have set aside $9 million towards retirement.
Individuals can now join the 45,000 employees that have enrolled through an employer.
“OregonSaves is now open to anyone who would like to participate,” Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read said in a statement. “We’re building on our past successes to provide a simple and convenient way for Oregonians to save for their retirement. Long-term financial security for all Oregonians will put our state on a path to a more prosperous and stable future.”
The program offers IRAs that are designed to be portable—staying with the participant throughout their career.
Individuals can sign up at saver.oregonsaves.com and choose to save as little as $5 per month through automatic contributions from their bank accounts or through payroll deduction, and can select from a simple menu of investment options.
Oregon workers will continue to be enrolled automatically in OregonSaves if their employer facilitates the program.
The retirement savings gap in America is estimated to be at least $6.8 trillion and growing, and more than half of workers have saved nothing, according to the National Institute for Retirement Security.
In Oregon, an estimated 1 million workers lack access to a work-based retirement plan.
At the same time, according to research from AARP, people are 15 times more likely to save for retirement if there is the ability to do so at work.
Policymakers established OregonSaves to address the retirement savings crisis for Oregonians falling in the gap, understanding that for most of us, it’s likely that Social Security payments won’t be enough when it comes time to retire.