Barb Campbell, owner of downtown Bend shop Wabi Sabi, wants to give her employees a way to save for retirement.

“I honestly care about my employees,” said Campbell, who admitted her reasons aren’t completely selfless: If Campbell can offer her employees a retirement savings plan, her business stands a better chance at recruiting and keeping the most-qualified people.

But Campbell faces two key obstacles.

First, Wabi Sabi only has nine employees — eight of whom work part time — and Campbell worries that setting up 401(k)s or individual retirement accounts might be prohibitively expensive because there are so few people to share the fees and costs with. She also worries that she may not have the time or the know-how to manage the plans and the investments once her employees start making contributions.

That’s why Campbell joined nearly a dozen small business owners in supporting House Bill 3436, which would create a special task force aimed at figuring out ways the state of Oregon could help individuals save for retirement if their employers do not have a savings plan in place.

Sponsored by State Rep. Jules Bailey, D-Portland, the bill would also have the state study the “feasibility of creating a public-private partnership that offers (retirement) plans or products to individuals” – a provision Campbell supports because it would let small business owners pool their resources into one large retirement plan and split its costs.

The bill passed both houses of the state Legislature in a last-minute vote July 7 and is on its way to Gov. John Kitzhaber so he can sign it into law.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, only 51 percent of Oregon residents 65 or older had retirement income besides Social Security in 2011. Non-Social Security income paid the average Oregon senior $23,000 in 2011, according to the survey, while Social Security paid the average senior $18,000.

Recognizing the difference a source of retirement income other than Social Security can make, Bailey sponsored a bill in 2009 that would have created a state-managed retirement savings plan. He withdrew this proposal four years ago because the state Legislature was almost completely focused on the housing crisis, but decided to bring it back up when this year’s legislative session started in January.

But after opposition from the banking industry — which said its products met the needs of small businesses and did not need competition from the state — references to a state retirement plan were removed, according to a report in the Oregonian. The bill now simply creates the Oregon Retirement Savings Task Force and orders this group to do an in-depth look at what retirement savings plans are available in the state and present its findings and any recommendations to the Legislature in 2014.

Bailey said he thinks the task force might recommend setting up a retirement savings plan similar to the Oregon 529 Plan, which lets people save for college. It might also set up a facilitated fund or simply create a state-managed marketplace where business owners can shop for plans that best meet their needs.

“(Small business owners) are looking for something they can plug into,” said Bailey, who understands their plight because he has a small business of his own. “Let’s get some smart people in a room and see what they can come up with.”

Five other states – Maryland, Maine, Illinois, Indiana and Connecticut – considered legislation aimed at creating state-managed retirement savings plans this winter. None of these proposals made it to a vote on their full House or Senate floor before the legislative session ended.

Last year, California passed a piece of legislation creating the California Secure Retirement Savings Program, which would require employers who do not offer a plan to pool employee contributions into a low-cost retirement plan managed by the state government or another entity.

The task force

Pending Gov. John Kitzhaber’s signature, House Bill 3436 would create a seven-member Oregon Retirement Savings task force and have it spend the next year researching:

* The access Oregon residents have to employer-sponsored retirement plans and individual retirement products.

* The types of employer-sponsored retirement plans and individual retirement products offered in the state.

* Estimates of the average savings and other financial resources residents have upon retirement.

* Estimates of the average savings and other financial resources that are recommended for a financially secure retirement.

* The level of reliance retired residents have on public assistance benefits as a result of insufficient retirement savings or other income.

* Tax incentives currently offered to encourage retirement savings.

• Specific educational and marketing strategies to encourage businesses and residents to increase awareness of and participation in retirement savings plans.

* Possible structures of retirement plans or products that could be offered or facilitated by the state.

* Costs and benefits of available plans and products.

* The feasibility of creating a public-private partnership that offers plans or products directly to individuals.

The seven-member task force is required to present its full report and recommendations to members of the Legislature by Sept. 1, 2014.

Source: Oregon Legislative Information System