New Jersey Among States Considering State-Run IRA Plans
America’s retirement statistics are grim: About 40 percent of baby boomers have nothing saved for retirement, about a third of Americans who are currently retired rely on Social Security for almost all of their income, and the outlook for current workers isn’t much better. About half of private sector employees have no retirement plan on the job.
So some state governments are now trying to help them save. A handful have passed laws requiring employers to funnel a small percentage of these workers’ pay into an individual retirement account run by the state. New Jersey could be the next to pass such a plan.
“We need to help them correct the situation,” says Vincent Prieto, speaker of New Jersey’s General Assembly.
Prieto is a primary sponsor of the bill that would create a state-run IRA for people who don’t have a retirement plan on the job. Prieto explains that these workers would automatically be enrolled, and then 3 percent of their pay would be forwarded to the state-run plan.
More: New Jersey Among States Considering State-Run IRA Plans : NPR