Oregon State's Mandated Employee Savings Plan Marks One-Year Anniversary

On July 3, 2018, Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read issued a news release celebrating the one-year anniversary of OregonSaves. Oregon mandates that state employers that do not sponsor a retirement plan must enroll their employees in the state-run program.

The treasurer’s article provided an update on the status of the program with the following statistics as of June 30, 2018.

• Employees contribute an average of $106 per month to their OregonSaves accounts
• Total assets in OregonSaves were $4.6 million

The OregonSaves plan was rolled out to employers based upon the number of employees on their payroll.  Employers with over 49 employees were required to register with the state by May 15, 2018.

The next group of required enrollments is due by December 15, 2018, for employers with 20 to 49 employees. Companies that do not sponsor a retirement plan should review their options now to see if they should adopt a retirement plan or enroll their employees in the state-run plan.

Companies with 20 – 49 employees are often ideal candidates for a company-sponsored retirement plan that can be designed to provide for increased contributions for owners and executives as long as a minimum employer contribution is provided for the eligible employees.

Contributions to company-sponsored retirement plans are tax deductible, and the savings from the tax deduction will often pay for the required contributions for the employees.

Here are some sample maximum tax-deductible contributions allowed for an owner or executive with a combined 401(k) profit sharing and cash balance pension plan arrangement:

To learn more about how qualified retirement plans can help you and your employees reduce their tax bills while becoming retirement-ready, please contact David Strom. Learn more about OregonSaves here.