skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

NV Could Help Small-Business Workers Save for Retirement

play audio
Play

Thursday, March 9, 2017   

CARSON CITY, Nev. -- The Nevada state Legislature and the U.S. Senate are headed for a showdown of sorts. At issue is whether states should be able to manage retirement savings programs for workers in small businesses that don't offer payroll deduction savings.

A bill now being finalized in Nevada would establish a "Work and Save plan,” in which the state deducts money from workers' paychecks and selects a firm to invest it - at no cost to the state or the small business.

Scott Gulbransen, director of communications with AARP Nevada, said that half of Nevadans don't have access to an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan. And as a result, they’re at risk of coming up short when it comes time to retire.

“Fifty five million working Americans today do not have a way to save for retirement out of their regular paycheck,” Gulbransen said. "Yet we know that employees are 15 times more likely to save if they have access to a payroll deduction savings plan at work."

Supporters of the Work and Save plan are hoping for a hearing in April. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate is expected to take up a resolution - already passed by the House - that would overturn a Labor Department rule allowing states to sponsor these types of plans.

Opponents of state-sponsored savings argue that people can opt to save money on their own, and say the plans amount to government overreach in the financial sector.

Gulbransen said that 57 percent of Nevada's private sector employees - or about 557,000 people - could benefit from such a plan. He said that helping individuals save for retirement ultimately reduces the tax burden for everyone.

"Taxpayers end up bearing the burden because without enough for retirement, the risk to the public and to the taxpayer with dependency on social safety net programs actually costs taxpayers more down the line,” he said.

Nevada's U.S. Senators, Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto and Republican Dean Heller, have not publicly committed to a position on the issue.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021