Annapolis, Md. -- Retirement policy experts and advocates urged members of the Maryland House Economic Matters Committee to move forward with a bill that would help prevent the poverty that threatens millions of Maryland workers as they retire.

HB1318, sponsored by Del. Tom Hucker (D-Silver Spring), would create the Maryland Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program for private sector workers who lack access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan.

We can no longer ignore the outcry coming from American workers who literally fear leaving the workforce. Those workers don't want partisan politics, they want real solutions to our retirement security crisis and they want them now. This legislation is not only an answer to that call, it's reinvestment in the American Dream," said Hucker.

"We commend Del. Hucker for taking an active role in helping to address the retirement income crisis that threatens far too many Marylanders. If we're going to be successful in the fight against elder poverty, then we must start thinking outside the box to create new retirement plan models. Every worker deserves an opportunity to retire with dignity after a lifetime of working hard and playing by the rules," said Merle Cuttitta, president of SEIU Local 500.

"Individual retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s, have proved to be a failed experiment for too many people in the 30 years since they were introduced, exposing savers to a host of risks and charging them excessive fees while generating below-average returns. Low and middle-income workers in this country desperately need a secure, low-cost and portable place to build their retirement nest eggs. The Maryland Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program proposed by Del. Hucker would be just such a place," said David Madland, director of the American Worker Project at the Center for American Progress.

"Nearly half of all working Americans do not have access to a retirement savings plan at work. This lack of access threatens to plunge millions of people into poverty when they can no longer work. Del. Hucker's proposal shows great promise in helping to address this issue. We encourage Maryland lawmakers to empower all workers to achieve a more independent and financially secure retirement," said Tammy Bresnahan, associate state director of advocacy, AARP Maryland.

If signed into law, Maryland would be the second state in the nation to set up a state-based retirement savings plan for private sector workers. Last year, similar legislation was signed into law in California. A public opinion research report released last week by the National Institute on Retirement Security found overwhelming support for expanding access to retirement savings through a plan similar to that proposed by Hucker.

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