Comptroller presses changes to Connecticut’s myCT savings program; PCAs, advocates press for enrollment access

Hartford — Comptroller Sean Scanlon told the Labor and Public Employees Committee that Senate Bill 1221 would make technical and operational changes to myCT savings, Connecticut’s state-sponsored retirement program, including allowing personal care attendants to enroll and aligning contribution rules with federal standards.

Scanlon, who said his office has run the program since rollout, told the committee the statute creating the program dates back to 2016 and that the proposed changes are intended to update the law and increase participation. “This program is personal to me,” he said, noting his small-business background and describing the effect retirement access has had for workers who previously had no accounts.

Why it matters: myCT savings is a state-run automatic IRA program meant to reach employees without employer-sponsored retirement plans. Advocates and the comptroller say expanding the program to cover roughly 12,000 personal care attendants (PCAs) and aligning it to federal contribution standards and the federal savers match would expand retirement access for low- and moderate-income workers.

Most important facts - Comptroller Scanlon said myCT savings has more than 6,900 participating employers, roughly 30,000 enrolled employees and about $36,000,000 in assets under management (figures given…