State Plan for Employees Launched July 2017 
OregonSaves, a state-run retirement program for employees of businesses who do not currently offer a retirement savings plan, officially launched in July when 11 employers selected for the first pilot program began payroll deductions for participating employees.

Attention hospitality industry: at the end of July, employers with 100 or more employees can expect to receive their first notice about the program from the State and have until November 15, 2017 to register with the program. The notice from the state will include instructions on how and when to complete the registration process.

In 2015, the Oregon Legislative Assembly enacted legislation, which created the Oregon Retirement Savings Board. House Bill 2960 tasked the Board with the establishment and oversight of a state-run retirement savings program providing employees with a flexible opportunity to save through payroll deductions and the ease of getting started with automatic enrollment and annual contribution escalation.  

The new public website for OregonSaves is now live at OregonSaves.com and includes general information about the program as well as specific information for savers at Saver.oregonsaves.com and for employers at Employer.oregonsaves.com.  

Pilot programs 
The first pilot program has successfully completed the registration process for OregonSaves. Pilot employers get early access to the program, receive hands-on assistance through the process, and began payroll deductions for participating employees in July, after the 30-day enrollment period ends. Registration for the second pilot will begin in August with payroll deductions for those who participate to begin in October. The second pilot phase will help test the automation of the program for a wide variety of employers in terms of size and ways of doing business, helping prepare for the statewide launch. 

Details
Employers must collect (payroll deduction) and remit the payroll withholdings each pay period to the State. This will create additional paperwork for employers to deal with staff. There is no cost; the plan is funded into IRA's.

Timeline 
OregonSaves is scheduled to roll out in phases starting with larger employers. The registration deadlines for employers are as follows: 

a. An employer employing 100 or more employees: November 15, 2017 (audit required)
b. An employer employing 50 to 99 employees: May 15, 2018 
c. An employer employing 20 to 49 employees: December 15, 2018 
d. An employer employing 10 to 19 employees: May 15, 2019 
e. An employer employing 5 to 9 employees: November 15, 2019 
f. An employer employing 4 or fewer employees: May 15, 2020 

Employers with a deadline of November 15, 2017 can expect to receive notice about the program from the State starting in July. In October, they will receive another notice with instructions about how to either register with the program or certify their exemption from it. They will have until November 15, 2017 to complete the registration or certification process. Payroll deductions for employees of those businesses that register by the deadline will begin in January 2018. 

Rules 
The first stage of the rulemaking process is complete for OregonSaves. The first set of rules can be found at Oregon.gov/retire/Pages/Rules.aspx. A second stage of rulemaking that started in June will consider technical matters that are not in the first set of rules, such as the process for joint employment circumstances. 
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More information and a complete list of frequently asked questions for employers and employees can be found at   Oregonsaves.com/home/overview/faqs.html. | ORLA 
 
FAQ’s about OregonSaves 

Latest Culinary Pairing: Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association and SAIF
The partnership aims to reduce worker injuries and provides discounts for eligible ORLA members. 

The restaurant and lodging industries face some of the most difficult workplace safety challenges. To help protect the more than 167,000 workers engaged in making Oregon’s dining and overnight experiences picture perfect, the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA) and SAIF are joining forces. With SAIF’s decades of workplace safety experience, it’s an ideal match—and today it became official.  
 
With an eye toward making those workplaces safer and healthier, SAIF’s board of directors voted today to approve a group program for eligible ORLA members. ORLA’s board of directors previously approved the endorsement and group program on May 23, 2017. 

“We are proud to partner with ORLA on our shared mission of making Oregon the safest and healthiest place to work,” said Christy Witzke, vice president of marketing, sales, and communications at SAIF. “We’re impressed by ORLA’s longstanding commitment to improving their members’ safety programs, and are excited to work more closely with them in this area.” 

The partnership will give eligible ORLA members, representing 11,000 foodservice and lodging establishments, a workers’ compensation group discount. The program is still in development and has to be validated by NCCI and approved by DCBS. The anticipated launch of the program is January 2018.

"With the onset of rising costs, it is in the best interest of our industry to create this new program to assist hospitality employers in finding new ways to save money,” said Jason Brandt, president and CEO of ORLA. "We are excited about the group discount program and the new opportunities we will have to jointly promote safer workplaces with our partners at SAIF.” 

For more information about the new program, contact John Hamilton, COO for ORLA, at 503.682.4422.

About SAIF
SAIF is Oregon's not-for-profit workers' compensation insurance company. For more than 100 years, we've been taking care of injured workers, helping people get back to work, and striving to make Oregon the safest and healthiest place to work.