ALBUQUERQUE, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- A New Mexico Democrat has introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate to establish automatic private retirement accounts for U.S. workers.
The measure proposed by Sen. Jeff Bingaman would require employers with 10 or more full-time workers to establish automatic Individual Retirement Accounts if they don't offer 401(k) investment plans, the Albuquerque Journal reported Tuesday.
The newspaper said under Bingaman's legislation, workers would be automatically enrolled in the plans and IRA deductions would start at 3 percent of their salary.
If workers didn't want to participate, they would have to opt out.
Bingaman told the Journal his plan would significantly increase the amount of retirement savings.
"We think if the option were there, they would put funds away for retirement," he said.
Bingaman's plan was formulated with the help of David John, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation and a leading expert on federal retirement policy.
