Senate Failure to Pass Colorado Secure Savings Plan Disappointing for Small Businesses

A Colorado Senate committee’s failure to advance HB18-1298, the Colorado Secure Savings Plan, is extremely disappointing because the program would have helped level the playing field for our state’s small businesses struggling to provide retirement benefits to their employees.

The Secure Savings Plan would have allowed private-sector employees to contribute toward an individual retirement savings account using modest payroll deductions. This would have helped small employers offer practical benefits to their employees at little cost to their businesses.

It’s a reality that most small business owners do not have the resources to provide retirement benefits for their employees. As a result, most small employers offer fewer benefits than their big business counterparts, leaving them at a disadvantage when it comes to attracting and retaining employees. The Secure Savings Plan, however, would have helped address this problem and made it easier for small businesses to compete with bigger businesses for top talent.

Small businesses value their employees, so it’s no surprise they support programs that are good for their workers as well as their bottom line. In fact, scientific opinion polling released by Small Business Majority and AARP found 58 percent of small business owners in Colorado support a privately managed state retirement savings program. What’s more, 69 percent believe this kind of program makes small businesses more competitive by helping them attract and retain talented employees.

Since the Secure Savings Plan did not pass, Colorado's small employers will continue to have trouble keeping up with larger firms. We hope the Colorado legislature will consider Secure Savings legislation again in the future.