Benefits January 5, 2015

Illinois Establishes Retirement Plan for Private-Sector Workers

A bill establishing the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program has been signed into law.
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Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation establishing an individual retirement plan for private-sector employees who currently do not have access to a retirement plan at work.

Senate Bill 2758 establishes the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program, an individual-account retirement savings option with a 3% automatic payroll deduction. Employers that do not already offer a retirement savings plan to workers, that have been in business for at least two years and employ 25 or more employees are required to participate. Employees can opt out of the program, or contribute more or less than the default 3% of salary.

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The funds will be overseen by a seven-member Illinois Secure Choice Savings Board, which will select a private firm to manage the money.

“The program will provide workers an opportunity to secure a safe retirement and give more businesses the opportunity to offer a retirement savings program at no cost to the company. The program will be self-sustaining at no additional cost to the state with the exception of start-up administrative costs,” the Governor’s office said in a statement.

The new law is effective June 1, 2015, and implementation must be complete within two years.

A number of other states are considering similar programs (see “States Moving to Fill Private-Sector Retirement Plan Void”)

Deals and People January 5, 2015

ABD Hires VP of Retirement Services

ABD Insurance and Financial Services hired Brian Ashworth as vice president of its retirement services group.
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Headquartered in San Mateo, California, ABD Insurance and Financial Services (ABD) is comprised of nearly 160 enterprise risk and reward advisers working with a variety of client types—including retirement plans.

Brian Ashworth is joining ABD’s retirement services group as vice president. Ashworth has experience working in the retirement plan services industry since 1986, the firm says. He most recently served as a retirement plan consultant at Comerica, providing consulting services to mid-sized and large market companies. Prior to Comerica, Ashworth held several sales management and marketing positions with Transamerica Retirement Services and CIGNA Retirement & Investment Services, helping organizations growth their retirement business.

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“Brian has an excellent reputation in the 401(k) community for the fiduciary support he provides his clients. Additionally, his experience with clients in a variety of regions and industries will be a great asset to ABD Retirement Services as we continue to expand,” says Chris Call, leader of ADP’s retirement services team. “We’re thrilled that he’s joining our team.”

More information on the firm is available at www.theABDteam.com.

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