Expansion of the CORE Program
Massachusetts House Bill 2698, SD.2239 proposes to expand the scope of the CORE program to all non-profits in the Commonwealth. Currently, the CORE program is administered by the Treasurer’s Office and marketed exclusively to small non-profit employers with fewer than 20 employees.
Expansion of the CORE 401(k) Program to employers of non-profits with more than 20 employees is counter to the original legislative intent of the plan – to address the workplace coverage gaps of small non-profits which typically provide fewer work place savings options to their employees.
Expansion of the CORE 401(k) plan will put you in competition for business with the State of Massachusetts!
Government Mandate into Government-Run Solution
Massachusetts House Bill 2251, SD.2238 forces auto-enrollment for state and local government employees EXCLUSIVELY in the state’s SMART Plan, a multiple employer governmental plan under Section 457(b) of the Internal Revenue Code.
This bill will limit choices for thousands of hard-working governmental employees and their employers, and effectively create a public monopoly for retirement savings in Massachusetts. This legislation undermines 403(b) and 457(b) plans in the public and non-profit sector.
The ARA supports policies that improve participation in workplace savings programs, including plan designs with automatic enrollment and other automated features. However, public sector employers – and their hard-working employees – should have a choice. Limiting automatic enrollment exclusively to the SMART plan restricts public employer choice and limits market competition.
One size does NOT fit all. The state’s selection of an arbitrary default contribution rate and a choice of investment for employees’ contributions raise concerns because employees vary in age, outside savings, income, debt obligations, and funding needs when they retire. Public employees are better served by having an opportunity to work with a trusted advisor to choose retirement savings options that are best suited to their individual circumstances.
Tell the Massachusetts legislature that HB2698, SD.2239 and HB2251, SD.2238 should not pass into law. Protect employer and employee retirement savings choice.
