15 States Closing Retirement Savings Gaps With Auto-IRAs

As of the beginning of July, there have been at least 22 states and cities that have enacted government-facilitated retirement savings programs for private sector workers, according to an extensive new report published by the Center for Retirement Initiatives at Georgetown University. As the report explains, state and local governments have adopted one or a combination of four models. The predominant model is based around automatic enrollment into individual retirement accounts administered by the state, called "auto-IRA" programs. Such auto-IRA savings programs have been adopted by 15 states. The other program modes are voluntary open multiple employer plans, voluntary payroll deduction IRAs and voluntary marketplaces. Auto-IRA programs require employers that do not otherwise offer a retirement plan to allow their workers to be automatically enrolled in state-facilitated retirement savings programs, which are organized around individual accounts and generally prohibit employer contributions. According to the report, most states are actively implementing their programs, with nine states having auto-IRA programs that are open to all eligible employers as of June 30. That leaves six auto-IRA programs in various states of development. See the slideshow for a state-by-state update, based on the new report from the Center for Retirement Initiatives at Georgetown University and organized based on date of inception.