Our Case for a Work and Save Program in Hawaii

We’re calling on Hawaii's state legislature to approve a state-backed retirement savings program to help the 215,000 workers in the state who don't have a 401(k) or similar savings option through their jobs.

“Many of them work for small businesses who find it too complicated, time-consuming and expensive to offer retirement savings programs to their workers, even though many of them want to provide a way for their employees to save for retirement,” Keali’i Lopez, director of AARP Hawaii, wrote in an op-ed published this week in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald and the Honolulu Star Advertiser.

Hawaii's state senate passed Work and Save legislation last week that would require certain employers to automatically enroll workers in a state-backed savings program if the company doesn’t offer a 401(k) or similar program. Employees can opt out, but research shows people are 15 times more likely to save for retirement when they can do so at work — and are 20 times more likely if their workplace savings is automatic. Fourteen states, including Oregon and California, have already implemented similar Work and Save programs.

Now the legislation moves to Hawaii's House of Representatives. Read more about Work and Save in Hawaii. And if you live there, tell your state representative to pass the Work and Save bill at action.aarp.org/hisaves.