A legislative committee has passed a bill to help South Dakota employees save for retirement. Rob Wylie is the Executive Director for the South Dakota Retirement System. He says most South Dakota employees who work 30 years or more with the state are covered under the state’s pension plan. However, Wylie says many employees who reach retirement under the South Dakota Retirement System have only worked around 20 years for the state. He says this means many state employees are not fully prepared for retirement. To help, the South Dakota Retirement Council instituted a voluntary supplemental retirement plan in 2008. The plan defers 25$ of an employees paycheck on a monthly basis to a retirement savings account. Wylie says House Bill 1011 would automatically increase this contribution each year by an amount set by the South Dakota Retirement Council.
Wylie says, "This is an idea of trying to get that voluntary contribution up to promote additional savings."
Wylie says the retirement council plans to release a new program next year to provide education to help state employees save more for retirement. House Bill 1011 passed the House Retirement Laws committee with no opposition and now moves to the House floor.