A bill in the state Assembly would require the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the mammoth pension fund for government workers, to offer individual retirement accounts for private-sector employees. The goal of the bill, AB2940, is to increase retirement savings among the vast number of people who have no plan at work and don't have the will or skill to open an IRA on their own.

Although several other states have considered letting their public-sector pension funds run private-sector accounts, no state has ever done so.

The bill was approved 4-1 on Wednesday by the Assembly committee that oversees CalPERS.... LINK

*Background on the pension bill: Advised by New America's Asset Building Program, Assembly Member Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles), introduced AB 2940 to establish the California Employees Savings Program. CalESP will provide voluntary and portable retirement savings accounts that workers can freely take with them from job to job. New America’s Asset Building Program has long called for the creation of a portable retirement account that will enable all workers the opportunity to build wealth and achieve financial security.