6 events in Passaic County with a date

State-run retirement savings plan grows

RetireReady NJ program now has 18,000 enrolled

By: Daniel Munoz
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... A state-run retirement savings option for private-sector workers has amassed 18,000 enrollees across 1,200 employers with a combined $8 million in assets after a year in existence, New Jersey Treasury Department officials said in a July 7 [2025] statement.
..... Previously called the Secure Choice Savings Program, the RetireReady NJ program makes IRA-type retirement fund accounts available to state residents employed at businesses with 25 or more workers.
..... Vestwell, the program administrator estimated in 2023 that once it is fully operational, more than 800,000 workers in New Jersey without access to a retirement savings plan could have one.
..... Governor Phil Murphy's administration estimated that the fund could have over $10 billion in assets once it's fully implemented.
..... Despite the difference in numbers, the program nonetheless "is off to a great start," said Angela Antonelli, executive director of the Center for Retirement Initiatives, a research institute at Georgetown University in Washington that studies similar efforts across the U.S.
..... The program requires employers of at least 25 workers to join it or create their own retirement option, Antinelli said. Many of those business are taking the second route.
..... "Any progress made to offer more workers an easy way to save for retirement is a win, whether it be through the state program or employers acting on their own to adopt new plans," she told NorthJersey.com .
..... The state missed the original start date for the program of March 28, 2021, citing the COVID-19 pandemic for the delay. Another March deadline came and went in 2022. Twenty states, including California, Illinois and Oregon, have similar4 programs, on which New Jersey's was modeled, according to a database run by the center at Georgetown. New Yoke enacted its own program in 2021.
..... Many workers at small business don't have access to retirement savings accounts, said Todd Hassler, executive director of the program.
..... "It's often referred to as a retirement gap crisis," he has said.

Businesses must register

..... New Jersey businesses with at least 25 employees or that have been in operation for at least two years and do not offer their own retirement option now have to register with the program. A smaller pilot program was run in spring 2024 and involved five New Jersey businesses encompassing 250 workers.
..... State Treasury Department officials said participation in the program would cost nothing for employers. Companies that already offer a retirement plan, such as a 401(k)m can verify that with the state and be exempt form participation in RetireReady NJ.
..... Lawmakers are hoping to expand the scope of businesses that have to register with the program, so that it includes businesses with at least one employee.
..... The proposal - Assembly Bill 5358 - was approved by the state Assembly in a 49-28 vote in May, [2025] but it has not moved forward in the state Senate since its introduction in early June. [2025]

How does it work?

..... Under RetireReady NJ, the state sets up its own retirement fund and automatically enrolls employees at businesses that are more than two years old or have at least 25 staff members and don't offer retirement benefits.
..... Deductions would be set at 3% of employee pay. No contributions or employer matches would come from the company - a restriction put in place to keep the program in line with federal regulations.
..... AARP, the advocacy group for older Americans, has estimated that more than 1.7 million people in the Garden State were employed by businesses that didn't offer such benefits.
..... One key task was getting an executive director for the program. Hassler was announce dover a year ago after a nationwide search, the Treasury Department said. he receives an annual salary of $220,000, public recored show.
..... As of December 2024, California;s fund had over 539,000 enrollees with a combined $1.1 billion in assets, according to the Georgetown database.
..... The Illinois program has 7,757 enrollees with a combined $224 million in assets, and the Oregon program had 8,293 enrollees with a $329 million fund.
..... "Workers that otherwise did not have access to a retirement plan thorough their private employers will now have an opportunity to save, advancing our mission of making retirement accessible and supporting New Jerseyans through every stage of their careers," Murphy said in a statement last summer. [2024]

HOME