Issued August 26, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Service Employees International Union released the following statement from SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry today in response to the U.S. Department of Labor’s final ruling governing state-based retirement plans for the private sector:
“The Labor Department has taken action that will help states to move forward in addressing the retirement crisis looming over our nation. Corporate policies that place profit over people have made it extremely difficult for the average American family to achieve a simple, dignified retirement.
“These guidelines should motivate lawmakers to explore more legislative solutions to the retirement security crisis threatening nearly half of working-age American households. It’s time for our elected officials to answer the call of working people who want an opportunity to retire with dignity.”
In 2012, SEIU members and other working people played an instrumental role in the passage of a bill to study and create the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program, the nation's first state-administered retirement savings program for private-sector workers. Today, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland and Oregon have joined California in enacting state-administered retirement savings programs, and roughly half of the U.S. states are studying the concept.
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