Dedicated in Delaware:
Treasurer Colleen Davis
on Retirement Security for workers and families in Delaware
Elected in November 2018, Treasurer Colleen Davis took office on January 1, 2019 and hasn’t looked back. Colleen serves on the Delaware Cash Management Policy Board - there she helped revise investment methodology, seeing a 300% increase in returns within the first 6 months in office. She was appointed by the Governor to the State Retiree Benefits Task Force that provides recommendations on securing retirement benefits while innovating on economic sustainability of those commitments. Treasurer Davis is a Bond Issuing Officer and has supported the state in maintaining its AAA bond rating despite recent economic challenges. She provides economic, revenue and investment updates as a member of the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council as well as serves on many Boards for the state including Government Efficiency and Accountability Review (GEAR), State Employee Benefits Council (SEBC), Plans Management Board, Agriculture Lands Preservation Board, and the Volunteer Firefighters Fund Committee. Pictures? You bet! Check out our recap and photos in Retirement Security Matters.
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Treasurer Davis, can you tell us some of the things that you're focused on in the economic and retirement security space in Delaware?
Yes. Right now we're starting to take a look at developing some type of a publicly offered retirement fund. We're in the very early stages of developing legislation around it. But we recognize that (prior to the pandemic) only 58% of all Delaware workers had a retirement plan available to them at work. If you look at the numbers that are actually participating, it's obviously even less than that.
It's funny because I had a conversation with a gentleman who is involved in workforce development in our construction industry, a pretty booming industry in Delaware. One of the things that he said was they've developed auto-enrollment into their family construction business’ 401(k) plan. He said, “I've got guys and gals coming out of their apprenticeship who are auto-enrolled into their 401(k)”. And he said, “by the time they're 40 years old, they're just about ready for retirement.”
That's amazing.
Yes, it's really phenomenal. And it's wonderful to hear from a private sector employer some of the things that they're doing to be creative about supporting their employees. You know, they don't have to do those types of things.
One thing this gentleman said was, “if I'm going to put forth the effort and the time and the money to set up these accounts for my employees, I want them to really take part in them and benefit, truly benefit from them.” I think that we can take the lead from our private sector folks and step out there and get creative in a similar sort of way. So that's one of the things that we're working on. See this recap of Delawareans’ interest in retirement.
Kids and families are on your radar too, we know.
On the same lines we are working on helping support kids as they enter their higher education years. We're really promoting our 529 College Savings Plan and looking for opportunities and spaces where we can utilize that 529 to help support kids that may not have had the same types of opportunities. That's another area that we've got some real focus on and we're excited about.
You’ve got a new ABLE plan that provides tax-advantaged savings as well
You bet, we've just passed the 100-account mark on our ABLE accounts. Folks with disabilities are really starting to understand what these accounts are and how they can use them to their benefit. I think that's huge and really wonderful to see. We're at about 110 open accounts now, and I'm really excited.
We have a feeling with that success, you'll see word traveling within the community … “I've tried it, it works, you should do it too.”
We're very hopeful that that we see that type of momentum continue to build. We care deeply about the financial health of our citizens
When we loop back to retirement and consider what states have done, we see it really is working.
Embedded in the CARES Act was the ability for individuals to make withdrawals on their retirement accounts, such as their 401(k)s. You know, the whole idea is to try to help people where they are to get access to the monies they've set aside. If you have nothing set aside, if you have no account that's been set up for you by your employer, or if you were a 1099 worker and you get no benefits, that wasn't available to you.
One of the biggest concerns we have coming through this pandemic is that we've already started to see this divide, this disparity across our workforce. And some of those things that were made available previously will not necessarily be available to as many in the future. And I think that's where we've got to start to get creative about how to support people.
Thank you for your wisdom, Treasurer Colleen Davis! If you’d like to connect with the Treasurer about her initiatives, you can reach her here. You can also follow the Treasurer on social - @TreasurerDavis. And you can learn more about the Delaware Treasurer’s Office here.
Tables Turned! We were pleased to have the Treasurer interview Lisa Massena as part of Delaware’s Treasurer Talks series. You can catch that episode, and more, here.
This piece was featured in the October 8, 2020 edition of Retirement Security Matters. For more fresh thinking on retirement savings innovation, check out the newsletter here.
