New CA Bill Forces All Employees to Invest for Retirement

 

Senate leader Kevin de León has put forth a bill that would require all California companies, that have at least five employees, to offer their own retirement investment plan or enroll workers in the new California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program. Though employees could always invest for retirement using an IRA, while getting almost the exact same benefits of the Secure Choice program, many people haven’t taken advantage. As Time Magazine says, ” .. when it comes to putting money away, an employer nudge really matters: 90% of those with workplace plans save for retirement vs. only 20% of those without one.”

What bill does:

• Requires that employers with more than 5 employees offer some kind of retirement investment plan to employees.
• Offers a way for employees to invest for retirement directly from their paycheck.
• Starts employee contributions at between 2% and 5% of their paychecks (the exact details haven’t been hammered out yet).
• Automatically enrolls employees (about 6.8 Californians) unless the employee chooses to opt out.

What the bill doesn’t do:

• Does not require employers to “match” contributions or provide funds for the retirement of employees.
• Does not assume the risk of investing (investors could lose money).
• This program does NOT provide assured payouts during retirement (it is NOT a pension plan).

San Jose’s Mercury News:

At first the money would be invested in safe, low-yield U.S. Treasury notes. After three years, the funds would likely shift to a diverse portfolio of stocks and bounds. These options would be developed by the Secure Choice Retirement Savings Investment Board. The accounts would likely be Roth IRAs, a mode that allows for tax-free withdrawals upon retirement.

The amount of money deducted from a worker’s payroll would escalate over time, up to 10 percent, but employees would be able to set the amount themselves.

Time Magazine:

All told, at least 30 states are in various stages of setting up retirement plans—some mandatory for employers and some voluntary—according to the Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives.

At any rate, the Secure Choice Retirement Savings Plan is heading to an employer near you. I’m waiting to hear more about the specific details but this is coming. Do you think it will encourage more employees to invest for retirement? Head over to the Bigger Than Your Block Facebook page and give your opinion.

 

 

 

 

Allensworth 2012

Allen and Josephine Allensworth, founders of Black California town Allensworth.

 

Yesterday, the Bigger Than Your Block team was very honored to be part of the Juneteenth Celebration at Allensworth State Historic Park. Financial Education Speaker & Author Shay Olivarria gave a wonderful speech on building a solid financial foundation based on learning about personal finance, sharing information about personal finance, and learning to pass on wealth to future generations. During the speech participants laughed and really interacted with Shay. When she came off of the stage people kept coming up to the table to speak with her, congradulate her on a job well done, share why she was a different type of financial education speaker, and find out what the Rule of 72 is! Kids took part in the financial education cross word puzzles and word search puzzles for prizes. Adults took home copies of the referral sheet that could net them $250 for referring an organization to Bigger Than Your Block. It was a wonderful day.

Allensworth is sometimes called The Town That Wouldn’t Die because of the tenacity of the people that settled there. The drummers mentioned that Black history is a living thing. We have to remember our history, and contribute to it for the next generations. I’m Black & I Travel says, the Allensworth family created a Black town in central California

.. Allensworth turned his eyes west. He wanted to create a town where black families could own their own homes, their own land, run their own farms and control their own destinies ..

It’s up to us to keep Allensworth alive. For those of you that haven’t been to Allensworth yet, we thought we’d share a few photos to motivate you to come up and celebrate next year.

There were tons of vendors, BBQ, ice cream, and people! Buses of folks kept coming up. It was good to see kids running around and folks hanging out under the trees.

 

The plaque reads:Elizabeth Dougherty, a wealthy Oakland business woman, purchased the property and financed the construction of the hotel in 1910. The hotel was her investment in Allensworth, but she did not live here….”

 

Mary Jane Bickers arrived in Allensworth in 1909 and opened the town’s first business, a general store.

 

If you’d like to read a bit more about Allensworth visit VirtualTourist.com. See you next year!

 

Webinar

What are you doing Tuesday, August 4th? I’ll be delivering a webinar entitled “Need help getting your financial literacy program in schools?”

Learn effective ways to get your program in front of the students who need it!

Do you ever struggle to “get your foot in the school door” to provide your much-needed financial literacy program to students? If so, you’re not alone and now there’s a webinar addressing this important topic.

Join us on August 4 for “Best Practices: How to Get Your Financial Literacy Program into Schools,” the third-quarter webinar from the California & Nevada Youth Involvement Network (CNYIN).
In this webinar, you will:

* Learn ways other credit union professionals have successfully entered into schools.
* Understand the time and effort needed to implement a successful financial literacy program.
* Discover how to make your financial literacy program appealing to schools.

The webinar will be presented by Shay Olivarria, a consultant, speaker, and author on finance; Michelle Lawrence, education coordinator, American First CU; and Dhara Sanchez, COO, Inland Empire CU.
Who Should Attend:

* CNYIN members
* Branch managers
* Marketing & Business Development professionals
* Operations professionals
* Training professionalsM
* In-school education CU staff

Meet the presenter, Shay Olivarria:
Olivarria is a consultant, speaker, and author of Money Matters: The Get It Done in 1 Minute Workbook and 10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money. You’ve seen her in Redbook and read her articles in The South L.A. Report, SquareRootz.net, and HBCU Digest, among others. She’s appeared on domestic and international radio shows and worked with high schools, colleges, and community organizations. For more information on Shay, go to http://www.BiggerThanYourBlock.com.

FREE for all CNYIN members
$50.00 for non-CNYIN members

Sign up for the webinar here.

Congrats THINK Together- $150,000 in Grants!

SANTA ANA, CA, April 16, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ — Randy Barth, founder and CEO of THINK Together (www.THINKtogether.org), announced today that the non-profit organization which provides free after-school programs to 35,000 Southern California students has received a total of $150,000 from foundations associated with two prominent Southern California families: a $100,000 grant from the Peter & Virginia Ueberroth Family Foundation; as well as a $50,000 grant from the Marion Knott Foundation.

“Such generosity from the Ueberroth and Knott families has helped THINK Together emerge as the largest and one of the leading academically-focused after-school providers in California. Later this month, the work we’re doing at THINK Together will be recognized at a national conference in Washington, D.C.,” said Barth in his announcement.

“It’s Community leaders like Peter and Ginny Ueberroth and Marion Knott who make our good work throughout Southern California possible.”

Barth noted, “These new funds will help us enhance our program quality and continue building a regional system of support for over 35,000 educationally at-risk students and their families.”

Peter Ueberroth, an international businessman, is past chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee and currently its honorary president. He was the sixth Commissioner of Major League Baseball. From 1980-84 he served as president of the highly successful Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee. Ueberroth is managing director of Contrarian Group, Inc., and also serves as a director of The Coca-Cola Company, The Irvine Company, and Aircastle.

Virginia Ueberroth is chairman of the Ueberroth Family Foundation and a director of First American Corporation. Among other things, she is a trustee for Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian and serves on the advisory council for Sage Hill School in Newport Coast, CA.

Additional details about the Peter & Virginia Ueberroth Family Foundation can be found at www.ueberroth.org.

Marion Knott, a businesswoman and philanthropist, is the daughter of Knotts Berry Farm theme founders Walter and Cordelia Knott. She is a Trustee Emeritus of Chapman University in Orange, CA; and has long been a supporter of THINK Together after-school programs.

About THINK Together

THINK Together, a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization, is now one of the largest providers of quality academically-focused after-school programs in California; providing educational services to more than 35,000 at-risk students at 200+ sites throughout Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.

Specifically, THINK Together serves students at schools and community sites in the following Southern California communities: Azusa, Baldwin Park, Banning, Cabazon, Calimesa, City of Industry, Costa Mesa, Duarte, Jurupa, La Puente, Lake Elsinore, Mira Loma, Norwalk, Ontario-Montclair, Orange, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, Riverside, Romoland, San Bernardino, Santa Ana, Santa Fe Springs, Tustin, Whittier, Wildomar and Yucaipa.

THINK is an acronym: Teaching, Helping, Inspiring & Nurturing Kids.

Additional details about THINK Together can be found on the Web at www.THINKtogether.org.