New Retirement Savings Option Available Jan. 1

Worried about your financial security because your employer does not offer a retirement savings benefit? That is likely to change starting Jan. 1, even for workers at some of Illinois’ smallest companies.

“We have been working for over a decade to support, pass and expand the Illinois Secure Choice savings program because we know and understand how important financial and retirement security is to people of all ages,” says Ryan Gruenenfelder, AARP Illinois advocacy and outreach director.

The state was among the first to pass a law requiring employers to offer a retirement savings program or participate in a state-facilitated one. Secure Choice applies to businesses with five or more employees that have been operating for at least two years and do not offer their own savings option.

The 2015 law that created the program applied to businesses with 25 or more employees; recent legislation lowered that threshold to five, giving an estimated 545,000 additional Illinois private-sector workers access to a state-facilitated retirement savings plan through Secure Choice.

For more information, go to ilsecurechoice.com, call 855-650-6914 or visit aarp.org/il.

Susan Berger