The Minnesota Senate passed a bill that will create a state-run retirement program for employers that do not currently sponsor their own retirement plans.
The Senate voted 34-33 for the bill May 11 after the House of Representatives passed the bill May 1 by a vote of 71-60.
The bill creates the Minnesota Secure Choice Retirement Program, and companies in the state with five or more employees that do not currently sponsor a retirement plan will be required to participate.
The Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement must convene the first board of directors meeting by March 1, 2024, and the program's board of directors must begin operation of the program no earlier than Jan. 1, 2025.
The board will consist of the executive director of the Minnesota State Board of Investment, St. Paul (or that person's designee); the executive director of the Minnesota State Retirement System (or that person's designee), a corporate human resources or retirement benefit expert, and a small-business owner or executive, both appointed by the governor, and three board members appointed by the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement: executive or operations managers with experience in 401(k) record keeping, individual retirement accounts and retirement plan investments.
The Minnesota State Board of Investments oversees $128.2 billion in state retirement and other assets, including the assets of the Minnesota State Retirement System, which are commingled with two other retirement system assets into the $83.2 billion combined funds pool.
The bill is headed for the desk of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Officials in Mr. Walz's office could not be immediately reached about his plans for the bill.