NPRC Letterhead Template
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January 24, 2019 The Honorable Michael Frerichs Illinois State Treasurer 100 W Randolph St, Suite 15-600 Chicago, Il 60601 The Honorable Fiona Ma California State Treasurer 915 Capitol Mall Sacramento, CA 95814 The Honorable Tobias Read Oregon State Treasurer 900 Court St. NE Salem OR 97301 Re: State Retirement Savings Programs Partnership Dear Treasurer Frerichs, Treasurer Ma and Treasurer Reid: Thank you for your thoughtful letter regarding the potential for enhanced integration of private sector payroll, HR and benefits service providers with state retirement savings programs. The National Payroll Reporting Consortium (“NPRC”) is a non-profit trade association whose member organizations provide payroll processing and related services to nearly two million U.S. employers, representing over 36% of the private sector workforce. Payroll service providers have long served an important role as a conduit between employers and government authorities; for example, improving the efficiency of government tax collections and reporting through electronic payment and reporting programs, and improving employer compliance. As service providers, NPRC is carefully neutral on policy matters such as whether state “Secure Choice” retirement programs and related employer obligations are necessary. However, we have been following the evolution of these programs with great interest. We are well aware of the economic and behavioral research demonstrating the impact of availability of employer- based retirement savings opportunities (i.e., that perhaps as much as 40% of the U.S. workforce is not able to save for retirement at the workplace); and the impact of automatic enrollment and auto-escalation features. We concur that the ability to save for retirement through regular payroll deductions is perhaps the single most important success factor in retirement preparedness. Thank you for the offer to suggest enhanced integration between the respective state and private sector systems, which could translate to a more seamless service experience for employers. The various payroll and HR services industries will undoubtedly facilitate any ADP Asure Software BenefitMall/CompuPay Ceridian Gusto Intuit iSolved HCM Paychex Paycom Paycor Paylocity PPI Business Services PrimePay Ultimate Software employer responsibilities significantly. We have discussed the timing of improved integration with your offices and have been raising awareness of the opportunity across the industry. A meeting to consider electronic interchange standards could be very timely. Most state systems to date have necessarily focused on relatively small employers interacting directly, but interface requirements for large service providers would be quite different. Further, early collaboration in design and even rulemaking may make a significant difference nationwide as these programs evolve. For example, it would be helpful if state regulations permitted employers to administer notices and acknowledgments electronically. A growing percentage of the workforce is now accustomed to receiving and responding to virtually all employment information; e.g., forms, notices, enrollments…) electronically. Electronic administration is critical if the state programs are to achieve the cost constraints identified in state law, and employers are more likely to engage 100% electronically if they are similarly able to administer the programs electronically. Again, we appreciate your letter and look forward to the opportunity to discuss this further in the coming weeks. Please let us know how we can be of service. Sincerely, Pete Isberg National Payroll Reporting Consortium, Inc. 909 971-7670 [email protected] 2 Dear Service Provider: Thank you for providing important support services for the businesses in our states. You are a valuable partner for businesses just getting started, still growing, and those well-established, aiding them with benefits administration, HR and payroll services, and allowing them to devote more time to their core operations. As a growing number of states and cities are implementing programs to expand retirement savings access to uncovered workers, we are reaching out to offer you the opportunity to partner with us to make it easier for employers to facilitate these new retirement savings programs for their employees. Employers already depend on you for their payroll and benefits administration and will ultimately look to a payroll provider for assistance with the facilitation of these new retirement savings benefits. Enhanced integration between our systems will enable you to provide a more seamless service experience to these organizations. With millions of workers across our jurisdictions soon to participate in our savings programs—not to mention, almost 48,000 employee accounts already up and running in Oregon—this is a significant opportunity to enhance your offered services to hundreds of thousands of employers across the nation. While some of our offices may have reached out to you individually, we are now collectively reaching out to offer you the opportunity to partner with us. We all share the goal of making benefits administration as easy as possible for employers. Employers will look to companies that are able to provide full-service benefits administration, and successful systems integration will increase your service delivery potential. As more cities and states roll out their retirement savings programs, even greater opportunities for deeper collaboration and mutual benefit await. We are eager to discuss next steps in creating a partnership and will be reaching out to you to set up a meeting in the coming weeks. Please feel free to direct any inquiries to Kasey Krifka, Engagement Director for the OregonSaves program at 503.431.7976 or [email protected]. Sincerely, California Treasurer Illinois Treasurer Oregon Treasurer et al. .