Pure Michigan
Do you work for a company that does not offer you a retirement plan? Do you think your company should offer a retirement plan? Better yet, should every company in Michigan offer a plan? Do you think this retirement plan should be State sponsored and mandatory? House members have introduced bill 5708. It has been referred to the Committee on Commerce and Trade. The “Act” will be known as the “Retirement Savings Program Act”. The fund will be known (if passed) as the “Michigan Secure Retirement Savings Program Fund”. As stated, if this “Act” is passed, it will not be optional for businesses that currently do not offer retirement plans. “To require participation in the program by certain employers”. The certain employers are of course, the ones with no retirement plans available to its employees.
Stick With The Plan
Although businesses will be required to offer a plan, they do not have to financially contribute to the employee’s plan. They will only provide you with information of the State selected investment vehicles. You will select the investments based on all the normal retirement variables. Risk and age being the two biggest factors when addressing a retirement investment.
Your Hired, You’re In
That is correct, unless you “opt out”, the employee is required to participate. Enrollment will be similar to your low cost, “like your doctor, you can keep your doctor” health insurance.
They’re Serious
There is no middle ground for either employer or employee. For the employer “two hundred fifty dollars for each employee for each calendar year or portion of a calendar year during which the employee neither was enrolled in the program no had elected out of participation in the program. For each calendar year beginning at the date a penalty has been assessed with respect to an employee $500.00 for any portion of that calendar year during which an employee who has not “opted out” of participation in the program under the process described…”. Translation, make sure all your paperwork is correct at the time of hire and at the beginning of the year.
Sorry, Not My Department
Although the name of the fund has “Michigan” in it, the State will remain “hands off”. Well,….kind of. Because it is a Trust Fund, it has a Board of Trustee’s. So, let’s introduce you to the “hands off”, Board.
The Usual Suspects
“The board consists of the following. (a) The State Treasurer, or his or her designee, who will serve as chair. (b) a designee of the State Treasure. (c) the director of technology, management, and budget, or his or her designee. (d) Two public representatives with expertise in retirement savings plan administration or investment, or both. Both appointed by the governor. (e) A representative of participating employers, appointed by the governor. (f) A representative of enrollees, appointed by the governor”.
Come One, Come All
The board is just the bare bones of this trust fund. They will be allowed to retain whomever they deem necessary to operate the fund. Attorney’s, bankers, accountants and support staff to list a few of the more predictable hires. There is a 0.75 “administration Fee” that comes out of the fund for expenses. Just in case you were wondering how all of this expertise and talent was getting reimbursed.
Musical Chairs
Other than normal travel expenses, board members are not paid. However, there is one “perk” that comes with this appointed post. “indemnity as needed, each member of the board from personal loss or liability resulting from a member’s action or inaction as a member of the board. Not to worry, anything goes wrong, if the music stops, they all have a chair.
The Whole Megillah
If passed, the board of trustee’s and all of its retained experts are going to come up with a group of mutual funds (my opinion). This seems all well intended, except for the fact that all most everyone making these decisions are State employees or appointments by the governor. Potentially, there could be a lot of money in this fund. How unbiased will the fund selections or companies going to be? Conflicts of interest seem to appear in just about any decision the board would make on a recommendation from an outside expert.
“I Ain’t Promising You Nothing Extra”- Outlaw Jose Wales
What exactly is the State offering you? Basically, an automatic withdraw from your paycheck into a retirement account. With the only difference of a pay check instead of a checking account, they are offering you nothing that you could not do on your own through an E*Trade account. Unless you think the State knows better how to manage your retirement money better than you.

quotes taken from Bill 5708  http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?2018-HB-5708

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We all know this will be just the beginning of a Government program that will be out of control and deep in debt shortly after it is implemented.  Don't be surprised if the fund is raided by the legislature just like the SS system was drained by Congress. Unfortunately we have 2 political parties that exist only for their own benefit not for the publics.

Only one of the 13 sponsors is from the GOP, that being Inman from progressive beacon of the north, Traverse City.  This is what happens when legislation gets detached from reality, and keep an eye on the press when they start to rally behind the fallacious claim that the GOP arguing against this nonsense are against people having a safe retirement.

Yep. I tried to contact him and interview him about this bill. I tried to stay away from "party lines" and find interesting bills to review. Unfortunately, they are loaded on the democratic side at the moment. I know everyone is dying for another conspiracy discussion. So, I'll be putting on the tin foil hat and working on a new theory. 

What about the people that don't work? the welfare people. The state is their employer. That will boost the fund considerably. If the state needs more money close out Medicaid. Why should the people that don't work, never worked have better benefits than the retired people that paid in to Medicare ?

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