National Save for Retirement Week Kicks Off Oct. 21

National Save for Retirement Week kicks off Oct. 21-27 this year. For the second year, ICMA-RC will spearhead a national campaign effort to get state and local government employers and workers across the U.S. more actively involved in saving for their future.

Traditional pension plan and Social Security benefits have long been the backbone of most workers income in retirement. However, financial experts agree that they may not be enough. Longer life spans and rising costs, especially for health care, has changed the retirement outlook for many Americans. Workers may need 80 percent or more of their pre-retirement income to maintain their current standard of living.

In the public sector, over 90 percent of employees have an excellent foundation in defined benefit plans. However, only 30 to 40 percent of them are saving in a defined contribution plan or other supplemental savings vehicle. And even the strongest advocates for defined benefit plans agree that these plans alone do not provide for a secure retirement.

ICMA-RC's mission is building retirement security. One of our goals is emphasizing that through individual saving in defined contribution and supplemental savings plans will employees build true retirement security. In its inaugural year, National Save for Retirement Week (Oct. 22-28) received a hearty endorsement from Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Gordon Smith (R-OR), who successfully sponsored the resolution in the Senate. This year both the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives signed resolutions designating Oct. 21-27 as National Save for Retirement Week. Reps. Sam Johnson (R-TX) and Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) sponsored a House-version of the resolution for the first time.

In the days leading up to the week last year, municipalities hosted job fairs, parades and proclamations in states including New Hampshire, Texas, Iowa, and California. Typically, sponsoring municipalities coupled National Save for Retirement Week activities with existing career and financial planning programs to boost participation in both. We hope to see even more municipalities participate in 2007.

For more information about National Save for Retirement Week, visit www.retirementweek.org.