Partner Spotlight: Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER)

Self-employed childcare providers in Northwest Virginia and Southeast Ohio who have traditionally lacked access to an employer-backed retirement plan now have a new way to save each month thanks to a pilot project by the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER).

Launched in September, the Appalachian Savings Project is a collaboration between WISER and Appalachian By Design that encourages savings through education and match programs. Participants who attend a financial planning workshop each quarter and purchase a Series I Bond via TreasuryDirect's Payroll Savings will have their savings matched by 50 percent.

WISER selected the Series I Bond for its many benefits to small savers, including:

• Low minimum deposits
• Issued online
• Can be set up with automatic deposits
• Backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government

A key Ready.Save.Grow. partner, WISER also worked with the Treasury Department and the Bureau of the Public Debt to include savings bonds as a purchase option on tax forms for 2010 and beyond.

If you are interested in helping people take control of their future, visit the partner section of the Ready.Save.Grow. website for information, tools and resources.

Rally Employees to Save Today and Secure Their Future

National Save for Retirement Week Kicks Off October 21

Employers across the country can help raise awareness about the importance of saving for retirement during this year's National Save for Retirement Week, which takes place Oct. 21-27, 2012.

The week gives employers a timely opportunity to promote the benefits of saving and to rally their employees around participating in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Here are two easy ways employers can offer support:

• Empower employees with information. Ready.Save.Grow. offers a free online toolkit to help employers support employees in reaching their savings goals. Free, downloadable materials including fact sheets and a frequently asked questions document, are available on our website.
• Participate in TreasuryDirect Payroll Savings from the Treasury Department. Offering this additional voluntary benefit requires little company time and resources, since the employee assumes all responsibility once direct deposit is established.

Check out the @ReadySaveGrow Twitter and Facebook pages for more savings ideas and tools, as well as the latest news about the campaign.