The state of Connecticut is one step closer to passing its Retirement for All CT bill or Senate Bill 249, which would create a public retirement option that would provide employers and workers with a low-risk alternative to plans offered by the insurance industry. A labor committee public hearing is set for March 11 in Hartford.

The plan would not require the employer to become a fiduciary or take on any liability, but it would allow those not covered by retirement plans to put a percentage of their pay into a trust fund administered by the state. The accounts would be portable, allowing workers to continue to save for retirement when they change employers.

About 740,000 Connecticut residents do not participate in employer-sponsored retirement plans, according to the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis study released last year. According to the National Institute on Retirement Security, only 52 percent of working-age employees nationwide had access to a retirement plan on the job, the lowest share since 1979, and a full 48 percent or 44.5 million Americans lack access.