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The Mandate Monitor

RetireReady NJ: next employer deadline December 1, 2026

In effectChecked November 8, 2026Run by New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Board, New Jersey Department of the Treasury

Short answer

New Jersey requires employers that had at least 10 New Jersey employees throughout the prior year, have been in business at least two years and don’t offer a qualified retirement plan to register with RetireReady NJ, the state’s auto-enroll individual retirement account (IRA) program, and run payroll deductions for employees who don’t opt out. A law signed January 20, 2026 lowered the threshold from 25 employees to 10. Employers with 20 to 24 employees must register by December 1, 2026, and those with 10 to 19 by February 17, 2027; the deadlines for larger employers passed in 2024.

Next date: December 1, 2026: Registration deadline for employers with 20 to 24 employees.

Does your payroll handle RetireReady NJ? See the free state route and the 5 payroll systems with help docs that cover it.

What changed recently

  1. · New law

    New Jersey extends RetireReady NJ to employers with 10 or more employees

    A law approved January 20, 2026 (P.L.2025, c.379) lowered the RetireReady NJ threshold from 25 employees to 10. Employers without a qualified retirement plan that have 20 to 24 employees must register by December 1, 2026, and those with 10 to 19 by February 17, 2027.

Every change, newest first

RetireReady NJ deadlines

  1. · Retirement mandate

    Registration deadline for employers with 20 to 24 employees

  2. · Retirement mandate

    Registration deadline for employers with 10 to 19 employees

  3. · Retirement mandate

    Employers with 20 to 24 employees that have not registered by this date may be subject to penalties under the statute

  4. · Retirement mandate

    Employers with 10 to 19 employees that have not registered by this date may be subject to penalties under the statute

Dates already passed (7)
  • : The automatic yearly increase required by the amended law became part of the program’s default setup.
  • : Governor signed P.L.2025, c.379, lowering the coverage threshold from 25 employees to 10.
  • : Employers with 25 to 39 employees that had not registered by this date may be subject to penalties under the statute.
  • : Employers with 40 or more employees that had not registered by this date may be subject to penalties under the statute.
  • : Registration deadline for employers with 25 to 39 employees.
  • : Registration deadline for employers with 40 or more employees.
  • : RetireReady NJ opened to New Jersey employers and workers.

What employers have to do

  1. Register at retirereadynj.vestwell.com with your federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) and the Access Code from your notice by your deadline, or certify an exemption. A lost Access Code can be looked up online.
  2. Add your payroll schedule, company bank account and employee information (employees 18 and older). You can invite a payroll provider to help or connect a payroll integration.
  3. RetireReady NJ contacts employees directly; they have 30 days to opt out or customize their account.
  4. After the 30 days, record employees’ choices, start payroll deductions, and submit contributions and contribution details on your payroll schedule.
  5. Report each new hire to the program within 90 days of hire, mark departing employees as terminated, and apply contribution rate changes the program sends you.
  6. You aren’t responsible for answering investment questions or helping employees choose investments. You can’t match contributions; the program doesn’t permit it.

Handling RetireReady NJ in payroll

The free route: register directly with the state

You can register and report on your own through New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Board, New Jersey Department of the Treasury. You’ll still need your payroll to send the employee contributions each pay period.

Payroll systems with a help document covering RetireReady NJ

SystemWhat the documentation saysLink
ADP RUNThe RetireReady NJ help center lists a 360-degree integration for ADP Run that runs through Payroll Integrations, a third party that charges employers a monthly fee. Read the program’s help doc, Nov 7, 2026See plans for ADP RUN
GustoGusto’s auto-IRA help article lists RetireReady NJ among the state programs that integrate with Gusto through Vestwell, which adds a "Vestwell State IRA" deduction to payroll. Read their help doc, Nov 8, 2026See plans for Gusto
Paychex FlexThe RetireReady NJ help center describes a 360-degree integration with Paychex Flex (Select and Pro) that receives contributions from payroll and sends employees’ savings-rate changes back. Read the program’s help doc, Nov 7, 2026See plans for Paychex Flex
QuickBooks PayrollThe RetireReady NJ help center describes a 360-degree integration with QuickBooks Online Payroll (a QuickBooks Online plus Payroll subscription) that receives contributions from payroll and sends employees’ savings-rate changes back. That help center lists QuickBooks Online Payroll as supported and doesn’t mention Workforce plans. Read the program’s help doc, Nov 7, 2026See plans for QuickBooks Payroll
Square PayrollThe RetireReady NJ help center lists a 360-degree integration with Square Payroll; employers request it by emailing their Square Payroll representative. Read the program’s help doc, Nov 7, 2026See plans for Square Payroll

Listed alphabetically. We may earn a commission from these links; it never decides who’s listed.

How RetireReady NJ works

Default 3% of gross pay into a Roth individual retirement account (IRA), deducted after tax. Since May 2026 the default includes an automatic yearly increase of 1 percentage point each January, starting January 2027, until the rate reaches 10%. Savers can change their rate (1% to 100%, within Internal Revenue Service limits), turn off the yearly increase, choose a traditional IRA instead, or opt out at any time.

No fees for employers. Employer contributions are not permitted. Participating employers are not fiduciaries and are not liable for employees’ decisions to join or opt out or for investment results (N.J.S.A. 43:23-29).

Questions employers ask

Who has to follow RetireReady NJ?

Private employers, for-profit or nonprofit, that at no time during the previous calendar year employed fewer than 10 employees in New Jersey, have been in business at least two years, and have not offered a qualified retirement plan in the preceding two years. Part-time and full-time employees count the same. Count only workers who get a W-2 and whose wages have New Jersey income tax withheld, not 1099 contractors. Employees are 18 or older and live in New Jersey or work for a New Jersey employer. Workers co-employed through a professional employer organization (PEO) or employee leasing company count as the client company’s. Government employers are excluded. Smaller or newer businesses may join voluntarily. The program notifies covered employers by mail with an Access Code.

How do employers get an exemption from RetireReady NJ?

If you offer a qualified plan, such as a 401(k), 403(b), Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan, Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) plan, defined benefit plan, or a plan through your professional employer organization (PEO), you don’t have to participate, but you still certify your exemption online with the Access Code from your notice. A business that dropped below 10 employees at any point in the prior calendar year also submits an exemption if it is contacted. If you set up a qualified plan after registering, contact RetireReady NJ to certify the exemption then.

What happens if an employer doesn’t comply?

Under N.J.S.A. 43:23-31, an employer that fails without reasonable cause to enroll employees on time gets a written warning from the Department of the Treasury for the first calendar year of violation, a $100 fine for the second year, $250 per employee not enrolled for the third and fourth years, and $500 per employee not enrolled for the fifth and later years. An employer that deducts contributions but doesn’t send them to the program faces $2,500 for a first offense and $5,000 for each later offense. The department issues a notice of proposed penalty; an employer has 90 days to file a written protest and get a hearing, and a payment plan is available. The statute calls these amounts maximums, and the program may reduce or waive them. The program says employers that haven’t registered by June 15, 2025 (40 or more employees), August 15, 2025 (25 to 39), September 1, 2027 (20 to 24) or November 17, 2027 (10 to 19) may be subject to penalties.

Everything employers in New Jersey must do ·Retirement mandates in every state

Sources

  1. N.J.S.A. 43:23-13 to 43:23-33 (New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Program Act, P.L.2019, c.56, as amended by P.L.2025, c.379)
  2. Program Details for Employers (deadlines by size, steps, exemption), RetireReady NJ (New Jersey Department of the Treasury) (read Nov 7, 2026)
  3. Information for Employers (expansion to employers with 10 to 24 employees), RetireReady NJ (New Jersey Department of the Treasury) (read Nov 7, 2026)
  4. Board Information: program opening date and the dates after which penalties may apply, New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Board (read Nov 7, 2026)
  5. Webinar Answers, October 2026 (eligibility, employee counting, new hires within 90 days, penalties), RetireReady NJ (New Jersey Department of the Treasury) (read Nov 7, 2026)
  6. Employer fact sheet, RetireReady NJ (New Jersey Department of the Treasury) (read Nov 7, 2026)
  7. Employer registration checklist (payroll, bank and employee details; payroll provider access), RetireReady NJ (New Jersey Department of the Treasury) (read Nov 7, 2026)
  8. Contributions for Savers (3% default, yearly increase to 10%), RetireReady NJ (New Jersey Department of the Treasury) (read Nov 7, 2026)
  9. Automatic Yearly Increase notice to savers (May 18, 2026; first increase January 2027), RetireReady NJ (New Jersey Department of the Treasury) (read Nov 7, 2026)
  10. Secure Choice Savings Board minutes, May 2026 (automatic yearly increase adopted as of May 15, 2026), New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Board (read Nov 7, 2026)
  11. RetireReady NJ Program Amended (February 6, 2026), RetireReady NJ (New Jersey Department of the Treasury) (read Nov 7, 2026)
  12. P.L.2025, c.379 (Assembly Bill 5358), approved January 20, 2026, New Jersey Legislature (read Nov 7, 2026)