Bill Text: NY S06115 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Ensures that employees are automatically enrolled into the secure choice savings program and if they do not want to participate in the program, they must opt out.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION [S06115 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S06115-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6115

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 16, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  SAVINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection

        AN ACT to amend the general business law,  in  relation  to  the  secure
          choice savings program

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 1301 of the  general  business  law,  as  added  by
     2  section  2  of  part  X of chapter 55 of the laws of 2018, is amended to
     3  read as follows:
     4    § 1301. Program established. There is hereby established a  retirement
     5  savings  program  in  the  form  of  [a] an automatic enrollment payroll
     6  deduction IRA, known  as  the  New  York  state  secure  choice  savings
     7  program.  The  general  administration and responsibility for the proper
     8  operation of the program shall be administered  by  the  board  for  the
     9  purpose  of  promoting  greater  retirement  savings  for private-sector
    10  employees in a convenient, low-cost, and portable manner. The board  may
    11  delegate  such  authority  and  responsibility  for  the development and
    12  implementation of the program to the department of taxation and  finance
    13  as the board deems proper.
    14    §  2.  Subdivision  9  of section 1304 of the general business law, as
    15  added by section 2 of part X of chapter 55  of  the  laws  of  2018,  is
    16  amended to read as follows:
    17    9.  Evaluate  and  establish  or  authorize the process for enrollment
    18  including the process by which an employee may opt not to participate in
    19  the program, select a contribution level, select an  investment  option,
    20  and terminate participation in the program.
    21    §  3.  Subdivisions 3, 4 and 5 of section 1309 of the general business
    22  law, as added by section 2 of part X of chapter 55 of the laws of  2018,
    23  are amended to read as follows:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08082-04-9
        S. 6115                             2

     1    3.  The  employee  informational  materials shall include a disclosure
     2  form.  The disclosure form shall explain, but not be limited to, all  of
     3  the following:
     4    (a) the benefits and risks associated with making contributions to the
     5  program;
     6    (b) the process for making contributions to the program;
     7    (c) how to [cease participation in] opt out of the program;
     8    (d)  the  process  by which an employee can participate in the program
     9  with a level of employee contributions other than three percent;
    10    (e) that they are not required to participate or contribute more  than
    11  three percent;
    12    (f) the process for withdrawal of retirement savings;
    13    (g)  the  process  for  selecting  beneficiaries  of  their retirement
    14  savings;
    15    (h) how to obtain additional information about the program;
    16    (i) that employees seeking financial advice should  contact  financial
    17  advisors,  that participating employers are not in a position to provide
    18  financial advice, and that participating employers are  not  liable  for
    19  decisions employees make pursuant to this article;
    20    (j)  information  on  how  to  access any available financial literacy
    21  programs; [and]
    22    (k) that the program fund is not guaranteed by the state;
    23    (l) that they can opt out after they have been enrolled.
    24    4. The employee informational materials shall also include a form  for
    25  an  employee  to  note  his  or  her  decision [regarding] to opt out of
    26  participation in the program or [election] elect to participate  with  a
    27  level of employee contributions other than three percent.
    28    5.  Participating  employers  shall  supply the employee informational
    29  materials to existing employees at least one month prior to the  partic-
    30  ipating employers' facilitation of access to the program.  Participating
    31  employers  shall  supply  the  employee  informational  materials to new
    32  employees at the time of hiring and new employees may opt out of partic-
    33  ipation in the program.
    34    § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 1313 of the  general  business  law,  as
    35  added  by  section  2  of  part  X of chapter 55 of the laws of 2018, is
    36  amended to read as follows:
    37    1. Participating employers shall not have any liability for an employ-
    38  ee's decision regarding whether to participate in, or opt  out  of,  the
    39  program or for the investment decisions of the board or of any enrollee.
    40    §  5.    Subdivision 1 of section 1310 of the general business law, as
    41  added by section 2 of part X of chapter 55  of  the  laws  of  2018,  is
    42  amended to read as follows:
    43    1.  [No  employer  shall  be  required  to participate in or otherwise
    44  implement the program.] (a) Each participating employer shall  establish
    45  a  payroll  deduction  IRA  to allow each employee to participate in the
    46  program at most nine months  after  the  board  opens  the  program  for
    47  enrollment.
    48    (b)  Participating employers shall automatically enroll in the program
    49  each of their employees who has not opted out of  participation  in  the
    50  program  using  the  form  described  in  this article and shall provide
    51  payroll deduction retirement savings arrangements for such employees and
    52  deposit, on behalf of such employees,  these  funds  into  the  program.
    53  Small  employers  with less than ten employees may, but are not required
    54  to, opt into the program.
        S. 6115                             3

     1    § 6. Subdivisions 4 and 8 of section 1300 of the general business law,
     2  as added by section 2 of part X of chapter 55 of the laws of  2018,  are
     3  amended and a new subdivision 10-a is added to read as follows:
     4    4.  "Employer"  shall  mean  a person or entity engaged in a business,
     5  industry, profession, trade, or other  enterprise  in  New  York  state,
     6  whether  for  profit or not for profit, that (i) has at all times during
     7  the previous calendar year employed at least ten employees in the state,
     8  (ii) has been in business at least two years, and (iii) has not  offered
     9  a qualified retirement plan, including, but not limited to, a plan qual-
    10  ified  under  sections 401(a), 401(k), 403(a), 403(b), 408(k), 408(p) or
    11  457(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in the preceding two years.
    12    8. "Participating employer" shall mean an employer or  small  employer
    13  that  [elects to facilitate] facilitates access to the program's payroll
    14  deduction IRA as provided for by this article for its employees who  are
    15  enrollees in the program.
    16    10-a.  "Small  employer"  shall  mean  a person or entity engaged in a
    17  business, industry, profession, trade, or other enterprise in  New  York
    18  state, whether for profit or not for profit, that (i) employed less than
    19  ten  employees  at  any  one  time  in the state throughout the previous
    20  calendar year, or (ii) has been in business less than two years, or both
    21  paragraphs (i) and (ii), but that notifies the comptroller  that  it  is
    22  interested in being a participating employer.
    23    § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.