California Asset Building

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… more

Sacramento Bee | California Assembly Panel Passes State-run IRA Proposal

A proposal to open California's retirement system to private sector workers prompted questions Wednesday about government competing with investment firms and the pension system's ability to handle the unique program.

"We just don't know if it's going to work yet," Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore, said of the proposal to have the California Public Employees' Retirement System offer IRA accounts to workers whose employers don't offer retirement savings… more

..."We know that people save best through payroll deductions," said Olivia Calderon, the California legislative director [of the Asset Building Program] for the New America Foundation, a think tank advocating for the proposal. "But today, too many Californians don't have the option to save at their workplace..." LINK

Today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Member Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles) unveiled a proposal to give California workers access to a low-cost, professionally managed retirement account.

“We applaud Governor Schwarzenegger and Assembly Member De Leon’s bipartisan leadership” said Olivia Calderon, California Legislative Director of New America’s Asset Building Program. “Too many hardworking Californians don’t have access to a work based retirement savings plan. This is an incredible opportunity for California to show the rest of the nation… more

(Sacramento, California, 04/02/08)-- Today, at his First Annual Financial Literacy Fair, California State Controller John Chiang joined by Assembly Members Ted Lieu (D-Carson), Ted Gaines (R-Roseville), Martin Garrick (R-Carlsbad), Roger Niello (R-Sacramento), reinforced his commitment to advance a statewide financial literacy initiative that promotes access to economic opportunity amongst all Californian consumers.

"We commend the Controller's attention to what is a very important and often unaddressed need, consumer financial education," said Olivia Calderon, California Legislative Director of New America's Asset… more

Currently, too many Californians are disconnected from the financial mainstream. While national estimates show that 10 percent of households, including nearly one-quarter of the minority population, are "un-banked," meaning they lack a basic checking or savings account, 28 percent of California's adults do not have a checking or savings account. Recent market research indicates that Fresno and Los Angeles have the highest and third highest percentages of un-banked residents in the country respectively. Compounding the situation is… more

Personal savings rates have plummeted in the past decade to an all-time historic low. Many Americans aren't saving enough money for retirement, households are increasingly living day to day on high-interest credit cards, and millions are one medical emergency or layoff away from financial crisis. Moreover, poor savings rates mean that there is less money for domestic investment and to finance our government's debt. As more and more Californians are expected to save for their own futures, millions… more

In support of state-wide efforts to bring more Californians into the financial mainstream, the State of California could deliver a pre-paid account through the state’s tax filing process. The Assets and Transaction Account, or ATA, would expedite tax filers’ access to their tax refunds and serve as a safe, affordable, and convenient financial tool for lower-income Californians to conduct routine financial transactions and build saving throughout the year.

The state tax filing process presents a unique opportunity… more

Carol Whiteside, President of The Great Valley Center, presented on the challenges that families in California face in building savings and assets for education, retirement, homeownership, entrepreneurship, and security against economic crisis. While this is an issue throughout California, it is particularly so in the San Joaquin Valley. Capitol staff were briefed on the Valley's economy as it relates to family incomes and asset accumulation and how those factors relate to Valley residents' ability to pay for college education… more

Today, the New America Foundation Asset Building Program commended San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s innovative proposal to endow every child born in the city with a $500 Baby Savings Bond. The money, which would earn interest over time, would be available when the student graduates from high school, to be used for college costs or towards a first home.

“We applaud this bold, forward-looking proposal. Now that San Francisco has set the stage, we look to California and… more