In 2019, Young inherited the Great Colorado Payback. The program’s growth and success in closing cases is evidence that he is managing the department deftly.
has made progress in the last four years to get Coloradans back their money, jewelry and other lost items that are in possession of the state’s unclaimed property division. And that is important because the state discovered through a performance audit released in 2019 that the division, also known as the Great Colorado Payback, was, unable to act upon claims within 90 days, failing to send notices to 1.
6 million people since 2005 and reliant on a records system riddled with errors. Young, who inherited the mess when he took office in 2019, says the backlog is now a flowing stream of claims, but it has required additional staff and a transition to a new IT system. The Payback is just one small part of the treasurer’s job, but the program’s growth and success in closing cases is evidence that Young is managing the department deftly.The Republican candidate for treasurer, former state lawmaker Lang Sias, offers some important critiques of Young’s work, especially around the Secure Savings Plan. Young, working with a legislatively appointed board, has been setting up Colorado’s Secure Savings Plan, a new state-managed retirement savings system that will allow workers whose employers don’t offer 401s to invest in an IRA retirement fund via payroll deductions. The program was badly needed and is a key to ensuring all Coloradans, regardless of income level, are saving for their retirement. We support the system and are glad Young is working hard to get the pilot for the program launched starting this month. Employees, more broadly, will have access to the savings options starting in 2023. However, we agree with Sias that the fees proposed currently to be charged to investors are too high. We do not think 100 basis points, which is 1% or 0.01 times the amount invested , is the best deal Colorado could secure for the roughly 900,000 employees who would qualify for the program. For comparison, Oregon’s retirement system is charging 25 basis points, which is 0.25% or 0.0025 times the value of the account per year, plus a $1.50 flat account fee per quarter. Colorado’s system says, on average, the fee will be 0.32% of investments plus a $5.50 flat account fee per quarter.Assuming investment funds perform equally, the higher fee can mean thousands and thousands of dollars less in earned interest in just a few years. We urge Young to press the for-profit company hired in a competitive bidding process to manage the accounts to add at least one competitively priced, low-cost index fund to the investment choices and to work hard to get the flat account fee reduced as quickly as possible. Flat account fees are troublesome, particularly for people who are only able to invest $50 to $100 a month. However, in general, we have been pleased with Young’s work, and we don’t think this critique is a reason for Colorado voters to support Sias over the incumbent. For while Sias is right that the fees are on the high end, we aren’t certain that, in the current market, anyone could have procured a better offer. It’s unclear why large firms like Vanguard, Morgan Stanley or JPMorgan Chase didn’t respond to the RFP with more competitive rates, but Young says it is a difficult procurement because accounts will be small to begin with, and it’s unclear how many employees will opt out. Taking on the services is a risk, he said. We think Young will work hard to make sure the program is implemented well for both Colorado employees and the state.
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