Retirement security law needs Brown’s signature

There was a time, not long ago, that I thought retirement was meant only for bosses with big corner offices. As a single mom who utilized our amazing social service safety net, my life was very much paycheckto-paycheck until I secured a job with the County of Santa Clara five years ago. But I was shocked when I got my first paycheck; I was contributing money toward my pension every pay period — when my instinct would have been to pay my student loans.

Once I realized that automatic savings towards retirement meant that one day I would retire with dignity, it was life-shifting. A weight was lifted from my millennial shoulders; I no longer felt burdened contributing to my future.

It is thanks to my union that I today have a pension. My union — Service Employees International Union — was looking out for my future. Now, SEIU and our 700,000 members in California stand unwavering with Sen. Kevin De León to help expand retirement security to millions of Californians in the private sector.

Under DeLeón’s historic California Secure Choice Retirement Program, which awaits Gov. Brown’s signature, workers currently without access to a retirement plan would have three percent of pay deducted from their paychecks. They could opt out. Contributions would be pooled and managed by investment professionals.

The need is urgent.

Some 7.5 million California workers (57 percent) of privatesector workers work for an employer that does not offer a retirement plan. Of those, over 2/3 (almost 5 million) are people of color; more than over 3.5 million are Latino. One in two female workers in California between the ages of 18-64 is not covered by workplace retirement savings plans.

Fifty-eight percent of young workers age 25-44 have projected retirement incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, a commonly used threshold for economic hardship.

SEIU members lobbied relentlessly for this legislation because we believe people who work hard should be able to live their retirement years without choosing between healthy meals and medicine.

My grandmother, in her 80s, still works in retail. My father, in his late 50s, still holds two jobs.

Financial services companies oppose this bill, claiming it poses economic risks to the state and could create financial liability for taxpayers. However, the governor-appointed board overseeing Secure Choice’s potential implementation has reported the program is legally and financially feasible. The legislation specifically says the state is not liable for the condition of the fund.

In a state where more than 1 in 5 seniors lives in poverty, our government, funded by taxpayers like me, should be able to provide options for people to lift themselves up.

As a county worker, I am proud our public hospital turns no one away and our 9-1-1 dispatchers answer life-and-death calls. These are good government jobs, and cities, counties and states can do much more to push the private sector to do better for its employees.

The work to bring retirement security to all and to lift working families out of poverty is not a union fad. Unions have always been involved in, and indeed, led, movements that build a better society. We believe people who work deserve to be able to also live. It’s about fairness, it’s about social justice, and it’s about doing the right thing as a society.