(Columbus)-As part of a bipartisan campaign to promote financial responsibility and encourage Ohioans to save more of their hard-earned dollars, Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray today joined State Senator John Carey (R-Wellston) and State Representatives Jay Hottinger (R-Newark) and Dan Dodd (D-Hebron) at a Statehouse news conference to announce the introduction of legislation in the House and Senate that would create SaveNOW, a program designed to tie personal savings to financial education.

“Over the last three years, our personal savings rates in the United States has approached zero, reaching the lowest levels that we have seen since the Great Depression,” Cordray said. “This signals that many families are living paycheck to paycheck, and this leaves people in a very precarious position. It also means that a great many people have little or no control over their financial future-no cushion, no money for a rainy day, no emergency fund. Too many of us are at the mercy of hoping our luck will hold or that things will pick up.”

For the last 25 years, the Ohio Treasury has safely and successfully used a small portion of its portfolio to leverage better interest rates with banks for small businesses and farmers through the state’s Linked Deposits program. SaveNOW would build upon the framework of the Linked Deposits program, partnering with banks to provide above market interest rates on personal savings accounts, as an incentive for Ohioans to set aside more of their money. To participate, those opening accounts must also participate in a financial education program.

Cordray explained that “NOW” stands for “negotiated order of withdrawal,” a term used by bankers to indicate that funds can be taken out of an account at any time without penalty-essentially, a savings account.

Sen. Carey noted that, importantly, SaveNOW will have no additional impact on the state’s budget. Instead, it will be paid for using existing funds designated for Linked Deposits.

“This is a smart, fiscally-responsible way for the state to give families, who may be living paycheck-to-paycheck and struggling to save for the future, a path toward greater long-term financial stability,” said Carey, who is Chair of the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee. “Not to mention, by helping families become more financially-secure, SaveNOW will have a tremendous impact on the strength of our communities and the future success of Ohio’s economy.”

Representative Hottinger, Chair of the House Finance Committee, added: “The SaveNOW program will be a great resource for the educators and community groups throughout Ohio who are working so hard on this issue. I think it is important to support the work they are taking on, and to give them every tool possible.”

“Economically, we live in safe but definitely uncertain times,” Representative Dodd said. “Families should have a financial anchor, and too many of them don’t. SaveNOW will tie financial education and protection into an incentive for first-time savers to develop the life-long habit of saving money.”

Cordray noted that in addition to workshops like Women and Money and the Teachers Academy programs created in partnership with the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Centers for Economic Education to train instructors in financial literacy education, his office is working with the Ohio United Way and The Ohio State University Extension to build an America Saves network throughout the state. Additionally, the Treasury created an online financial education and protection program called Your Money Now Online which provides up-to-the minute consumer news, several calculators and other tools used to project the outcome of financial decisions, tips on financial decisions and scams, foreclosure advice, and educational material for all ages.

More information is available at YourMoneyNowOnline.org.