Helping Small Businesses Support Retirement: Retire Ready NJ

We recently hosted a live informational session featuring Todd Hassler, Executive Director of Retire Ready NJ. During the session, Todd explained how New Jersey’s state retirement savings initiative works and why it matters for both employees and employers.

In the United States, nearly half of all workers do not have access to a workplace retirement plan. For many small businesses, offering retirement benefits can feel complicated, expensive, and distracting from day-to-day operations. Retire Ready NJ aims to solve this problem by handling communication with employees and offering automatic investing options.

For small businesses that may not have the resources to create their own retirement plan, Retire Ready NJ provides a simple alternative. It helps employees save for the future without requiring employers to manage a traditional retirement program.

What Is Retire Ready NJ?

Retire Ready NJ is a state-sponsored retirement savings program for employees whose employers do not offer a private retirement plan. It allows employees to contribute to a Roth or traditional IRA through automatic payroll deductions.

Key features include:

• No cost to employers
• Optional enrollment for employees
• Very little administrative time required

Small businesses are not responsible for managing investments, giving financial advice, or acting as fiduciaries. There are also no required employer contributions, so businesses can support retirement savings without taking on extra financial burden.

New legislation allows Retire Ready NJ to serve small businesses with as few as 10 employees.

How To Get Started with Retire Ready NJ

Getting started with Retire Ready NJ is straightforward:

1. Visit retireready.nj.gov and register your business.
2. Provide basic information about your employees.
3. Retire Ready NJ will then handle outreach and enrollment with your staff.

If you need additional support, you can call the Employer Saver Assistance line at (855) 929-4387.

Supporting Financial Security

Helping small businesses support retirement is a powerful way to improve financial security for workers. Access to a simple, reliable savings option can make a long-term difference in employees’ lives.

At GNEC, we know how important these conversations and resources are for our community. Stay connected with us as we continue to host sessions like this and share tools that help small businesses support retirement through programs like Retire Ready NJ.