Department of Labor
Frances Perkins Building
200 Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20210
July 24, 2015
Secretary Perez,
I am writing to thank you for the leadership role you have taken in advocating for the formulation of regulations pertaining to state-based retirement savings initiatives.
I was extremely encouraged by your comments at the White House Conference on Aging. As you are aware, the Illinois Treasurer’s Office is preparing to implement a new state-run retirement savings program called Secure Choice.
Secure Choice will enroll all workers into a Roth IRA who are currently employed by a business that:
- Has been operating in Illinois for at least two years;
- Employs 25 or more employees; and,
- Does not currently offer a qualified retirement savings plan.
My staff has been working on implementing this program since I entered office, and when deployed it will be the first of its kind in the country.
I truly appreciate the leadership the Department of Labor and White House has shown in addressing the extremely important issue of retirement security—an issue that touches every community across our country.
I would like to offer you my assistance for any part of the Department of Labor’s rule-making and regulatory process regarding state-offered retirement savings programs. I believe that my office can be a resource to you and your staff in understanding some of the state-level difficulties with retirement savings programs.
Please feel free to contact me directly to discuss any assistance that I can provide.
Sincerely,
Michael Frerichs
cc: President Barack Obama
Senator Richard Durbin
Senator Mark Kirk
Representative Luis Gutierrez
Representative Bobby Rush
Representative Danny Davis
Representative John Shimkus
Representative Jan Schakowsky
Representative Dan Lipinski
Representative Pete Roskam
Representative Mike Quigley
Representative Bill Foster
Representative Randy Hultgren
Representative Adam Kinzinger
Representative Cheri Bustos
Representative Rodney Davis
Representative Tammy Duckworth
Representative Robin Kelly
Representative Robert Dold
Representative Mike Bost