In a draft report released last week, the Oregon Retirement Savings Task Force called on the state to create a general retirement savings program that would be available to any resident who does not have access to one through his or her employer. The task force’s members also suggested that such a plan should:

• feature automatic, but not mandatory, enrollment

• involve automatically deducted contributions

• involve a minimum contribution that will be based on a percentage of the employee’s pay

• be portable in case of job changes

• not require the participant’s employer to make any contributions

Formed by the Oregon State Legislature this past spring, the retirement savings task force was created to address the fact that only 79 percent of the state’s full-time employees and 37 percent of its part-time employees have access to a retirement savings plan through their employer. It will present the final version of its report to the state legislature next month.