Richard Hiller in a July 5th opinion piece is correct that focusing the retirement outcomes is imperative. In fact, the retirement outlook today for Californians is dim – only two out of five workers in the state participate in retirement plans. Even among Californians who have 401(k) savings, the average account balance is insufficient with less than one-third of annual income saved.
Senate President Pro tem de Leon’s Secure Choice legislation put California in the lead for addressing this retirement gap by creating automatic workplace retirement savings for all workers. This Secure Choice plan is a modest step. In California and nationally, an overwhelming majority of Americans fear that they cannot achieve adequate retirement outcomes on their own.