The states are being more aggressive than the federal government in looking for ways to enroll employees in pension plans who don’t have access to retirement savings vehicles on the job, two AARP executives claimed Tuesday.

“States aren’t waiting,” said AARP Executive Vice President for Policy, Strategy and International Affairs Debra Whitman.

Nine to 14 states currently have proposals at various stages in their legislatures to create state-sponsored retirement savings plans.

That number includes California and Oregon, which set up studies this year to draft legislation to establish the system.

“These are not Washington-style reports that are dead on arrival. These are the first steps in the legislative process,” said AARP Senior Strategic Policy Advisor David John.

While public money might go into establishing the systems, he said, they do not put state treasuries at risk because the states would not be liable if investments go bad or if the money in the funds would not be enough to pay the recipients.