SENATE MEMORIAL 119

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019

INTRODUCED BY

Bill Tallman and Tomás E. Salazar

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT THE RETIREMENT SECURITY CRISIS MUST BE ADDRESSED BY STATE INTERVENTION AND THAT THE STATE TREASURER DEVISE AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN TO ESTABLISH THE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY TASK FORCE'S RECOMMENDATIONS.

     WHEREAS, the legislatively created retirement income security task force was established in 2017 to study the preparedness of New Mexicans to retire in a financially secure manner; and

     WHEREAS, the retirement income security task force found that if the legislature does not act to address financial insecurity in retirement, the number of persons over sixty years old with less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) saved for retirement in New Mexico will increase by roughly thirty-one percent by 2040, to a total of four hundred sixty-nine thousand residents; and

     WHEREAS, the average social security benefit in New Mexico is only about thirteen thousand nine hundred dollars ($13,900) per year, while, on average, older American families spend about twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) per year on food, utilities and health care alone; and

     WHEREAS, the retirement income security task force found that underfunding of retirement savings has the potential to place an enormous strain on the state budget as it seeks to provide quality services and care to the elderly and may lead to reduced quality of life for retirees; and

     WHEREAS, after months of research and gathering input from diverse stakeholders, the retirement income security task force recommended three legislative actions, known as New Mexico saves, to address this crisis: financial literacy, creation of an online marketplace and creation of a voluntary payroll deduction individual retirement account;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the retirement security crisis must be addressed by state intervention; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the state treasurer be requested to devise an implementation plan to establish the retirement income security task force's recommendations that:

          A. prepares a time line for implementation of the New Mexico saves program, which may include a financial literacy campaign, an online marketplace and a voluntary payroll deduction individual retirement account plan;

          B. investigates the feasibility and benefits of partnering with other similar programs established in other states;

          C. provides a proposed funding plan for the program;

          D. provides a recommendation of the optimal oversight structure of the program;

          E. makes recommendations to the legislature regarding ways to increase participation in the New Mexico saves program; and

          F. proposes to the legislature any necessary authorizing legislation; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the state treasurer be requested to report the state treasurer's findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the appropriate interim legislative committee by November 1, 2019; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the president pro tempore of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the minority floor leader of the senate, the minority floor leader of the house of representatives, the governor, the state treasurer, the secretary of aging and long-term services, the secretary of finance and administration, the secretary of workforce solutions, the secretary of economic development, the state investment officer, the executive director of the public employees retirement association, the executive director of the New Mexico educational retirement board, the director of the securities division of the regulation and licensing department and members of the 2017 retirement income security task force.

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