A friend recently asked if I ever had a job I didn’t like, because I seem to like all of those I have written about.
I’ve shared stories about walking beans and detasseling corn, bagging groceries and stocking shelves at the IGA in Rantoul, teaching English in Taiwan, and my time as Champaign County Auditor.
I learned something new at each one, and found some more fulfilling than others.
Sometimes we work out of necessity. I needed to work a job as part of my financial aid package. I spent four years of college working at the school gym. I chose that one because it didn’t conflict with my classes or practices, and I could study between handing out towels.
The job was pretty simple. From 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., I sat in a kiosk. People paid for towel service because they didn’t want to drag a wet towel home after their workout. They would hand me their ID, and I would hand them a towel. Then I would go back to studying. At the end of my shift, I would help lock up and usually go to the library to finish homework.
This job helped me to pay my portion of tuition. There wasn’t much chit chat — most people were in a hurry to get to their workout in or go home. You have probably held a similar job that served others and in doing so made their lives easier or more enjoyable. We work those jobs because we need the money, to pay for school, to keep a roof over our families’ heads, and to put food on the table. We don’t live to work; we work to live. And at some point, people would like to be able to stop working and enjoy their retirement.
At the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office, we want to use our power to help workers. It’s why we launched the Illinois Secure Choice retirement program in 2018, and we’re happy to announce we are relaunching it with lower fees and other improvements.
There is a retirement crisis in this country. Too many people have saved too little to be able to retire with dignity. Many people work at a job that doesn’t allow them to save through payroll deductions, even as people at jobs with that option are 15 times more likely to save for their retirement.
In the past, many people working service jobs didn’t have an easy way to save for retirement through their employer. Financial service companies often didn’t want to help these businesses because there were too few employees, the workers didn’t make enough money, or there was too much turnover.
Illinois Secure Choice, which we’re renaming My Illinois Savings, is part of the solution here in our state. We now have more than 170,000 people who have saved $330 million for their retirement. These participants can build a nest egg to supplement Social Security and hopefully enjoy their golden years with a little less anxiety.
Starting June 15, savers will have a new, easy-to-use online portal and mobile app available in 20 languages, making it easier to manage accounts and stay engaged. Account and asset-based fees will be reduced.
Employers will continue to pay no program fees, and they will gain access to an upgraded portal with automated payroll deductions and contribution submissions integrated with some of the country’s largest payroll providers.
The goal is to strengthen what already works. What won’t change: Workers will continue to save through automatic payroll deductions into a Roth IRA that they own and control, and that stays with them even if they change jobs.
Service workers show up every day and make life a little easier for everyone else. They don’t always hear a lot of “thank yous,” but here in the State Treasurer’s office, we are thankful that they show up every day. But we also want them to be able to afford to stop when they are ready to retire.
Sincerely,
Michael