Senator Cherry asked and was granted unanimous consent to make a statement and moved that the statement be printed in the Journal.
The motion prevailed.
Senator Cherry’s statement is as follows:
The legislation before us empowers thousands of Michigan workers with a simple new tool to help secure their retirement: the establishment of the Michigan secure retirement savings program. As many of us know, failing to properly save for retirement increases the risk that seniors will live in poverty and places a greater burden on social services. By offering simple, accessible saving options for Michigan workers, we are helping a new generation of seniors and retirees live more comfortably and with dignity while easing reliance on tax-funded services and saving taxpayers money.
The program also provides small and micro businesses with a new tool to compete in employee recruitment and retention. Often unable to match the benefit packages of larger companies, small employers gain peace of mind knowing that their employees have access to an automatic savings program helping to level the playing field. I’m proud of the work we’re doing here today, providing hardworking Michiganders with the ability to retire with peace of mind and ensuring that workers can save with ease.
As to whether the programs are effective, other states have done it and what they have found is hundreds of millions of dollars of new savings for their workers. Workers and businesses in states that have done this appreciate it and it makes it simply easier for people to save for their retirement. This is a program that is voluntary. You can opt out of it if you do not wish to save for your retirement, but what have we seen with retirement programs offered with employers? If your 401(k) is an opt-out as opposed to an opt-in, you have more employees participating and saving for their retirement. Quite frankly, if you’re not familiar with investing or are financially savvy, it can be a big barrier to go into a brokerage firm and open up an investment account and know how to handle that situation, whereas with this program, what we found in other states is that it reduces the barrier and the intimidation that workers face in trying to find a way to save for their retirement.
Madam President, these bills before us will help workers save, they will lead to more secure seniors over time, and I appreciate my colleagues’ support in passing this legislation.
The following bill was read a third time:
Senate Bill No. 808, entitled
A bill to create the secure retirement savings board and prescribe its powers and duties.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor, as follows: