More New Jersey private-sector workers will soon have access to a state-run retirement program designed to ensure that people can save for their golden years.
The program, RetireReady NJ, sets up automatic payroll deductions for New Jersey companies that do not already have their own retirement savings plans, putting the money into a state-run IRA-type retirement fund.
Starting in September 2026, program eligibility will expand to businesses that have 10 or more employees, have been in operation for at least two years and do not already offer a retirement plan. Currently, only businesses with at least 25 workers are required to join the program or set up their own retirement option.
The expansion means "thousands of additional workers" in New Jersey will have access to a retirement savings account, said Angela Antonelli, who heads the Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives.
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As of June 2026, the program had an estimated $26 million in assets, the Georgetown center said. It also had amassed nearly 32,000 enrollees since the program was launched in 2024, the center reported.
"These are savers who would not have been saving for their retirement if the program was not available," Antonelli said.
Deductions for the program are set at 3% of employee pay, and workers can opt out of the program if they choose to do so.
Companies that already offer a retirement plan, such as a 401(k), can verify that with the state and be exempt from participation in RetireReady NJ.
A seven-member state board administers the program, the Treasury Department's website says, but the state website lists just five members.
The state missed the original start date for the program, March 28, 2021, citing the COVID-19 pandemic for the delay. Another March deadline came and went in 2022.
Many workers at small businesses don't have access to retirement savings accounts, said Todd Hassler, executive director of the program.
In New Jersey, 46% of the state's 3.47 million-person workforce lack access to a workplace retirement plan, the Georgetown retirement center says.
"It's often referred to as a retirement gap crisis," Hassler has said.
Figures released this year by the nonpartisan National Institute on Retirement Security showed that the median amount of retirement savings for a worker in the United States was less than $1,000.
"Most retirement programs today rely on workers saving voluntarily, with the tension between saving and the cost of buying a home, day care, and college creating enormous challenges for the middle class," said Dan Doonan, the institute's executive director.
Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.
Email: [email protected]; Twitter:@danielmunoz100, Facebook and Instagram
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ retirement savings program is expanding. See if your job qualifies