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Read. Follow. Verify.Alabama creates state-facilitated retirement savings program for private sector workers
Last action · January 13, 2026: Pending Committee Action in House of OriginSponsor: Rob Stewart
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What This Bill Would Do
The Alabama Legislature creates the Alabama Retirement Savings Program, an administered by the Alabama Department of Workforce, to expand retirement coverage for private sector workers whose employers do not offer a retirement plan. The program applies to eligible employers with 500 or fewer employees, requiring them to set up payroll deposit retirement savings arrangements within nine months after the program opens for enrollment.
Private sector employees without workplace retirement options gain access to state-facilitated automatic enrollment IRAs with a minimum contribution rate of 3 percent, while participating businesses face no liability or employer-sponsored plan administration duties.
- State-facilitated retirement savings programs have been adopted or considered in multiple U.S. states to address workers lacking employer-sponsored retirement plans. context
- The Alabama Department of Workforce oversees workforce development and employment programs within the state. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
private sector employees
Employees without workplace retirement plans are automatically enrolled in a state-facilitated payroll deduction IRA with a minimum 3 percent contribution rate unless they opt out.
eligible employers
Independent for-profit enterprises and sole proprietors with 500 or fewer employees must establish payroll deposit retirement savings arrangements for participating workers.
Alabama Department of Workforce
The department and its secretary are tasked with establishing, administering, contracting for, and overseeing the retirement savings program and its administrative funds.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which employers are required to participate in the program?
Can employees choose to opt out of the retirement savings program?
What happens if an employee does not select a specific investment option?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
2 actions- Jan 13, 2026SenateCommitteePending Committee Action in House of Origin
- Jan 13, 2026SenateIntroducedRead for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Taxation Education
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Establishment of State-Facilitated Retirement Access
The bill introduces a structured framework for state-facilitated retirement accounts directed at private sector workers lacking employer-sponsored plans.
Connected Entities
Sources
alison.legislature.state.al.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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