Retirement

Retirement

The average US woman will live for about 20 years in retirement and the average US man about 18 years. With better health care and lifestyle choices that amount of time will likely increase in the future. According to a recent study by the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy, 83% of workers age 55-64 have nothing or very little saved in Defined Benefit (DB) and Defined Contribution (DC) plans, the two main types of retirement plans.

Retirement planning should also include personal IRA accounts and private savings.

In an effort to assist Washingtonians with opportunities for retirement savings, Washington State has recently launched the small business Retirement Marketplace where individuals and employers can learn about and compare qualified plans. More information can be found at www.retirementmarketplace.com.

The Treasurer’s Office does not work directly on private retirement issues and cannot endorse any individual firm’s offerings but we do encourage all to save for the future.

Treasurer’s role in State Retirement

Safeguarding the ability of public pension programs to meet their long term obligations to public employees is an important role of the Washington State Treasurer’s Office.

The Treasurer sits on the Washington State Investment Board which invests funds for 17 different public pension programs. Returns on these investments will account for about 75 percent of what is paid out to public retirees of these State programs. These programs in total have, on average, earned over 8.20 percent annual rates of return in the past 20 years.

The Treasurer also is one of three State Finance Committee members, along with the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. This Committee appoints the Washington State Investment Board’s Executive Director.

Washington State consistently ranks as one of the top 10 states in the country for the stability of its pension programs.

If you want to find out more about state pension programs check the following links:

• Washington State Investment Board
• Washington Department of Retirement Systems
• Most Americans are also part of the Social Security system. To find out more about this Federal program check: go here.