Colorado and New Mexico are planning to work together to operate their state-run auto-enroll IRA programs, according to a news release from Colorado's treasurer's office.
Executives of the two state-facilitated programs — the Colorado Secure Savings Program and the New Mexico Work and Save Program — signed a memorandum of cooperation on Nov. 9 to pursue a formalized partnership agreement, the news release said.
State executives touted the partnership as a way to reduce costs through shared program administration. A partnership would also give retirement savers a portable benefit should they move to jobs across state lines, they said.
"Our partnership illustrates a shared vision and commitment by Colorado and New Mexico to build a low-cost, portable retirement savings program for our states' private sector workers. By combining both states' resources and saver participants, the partnership will ensure the program is operational sooner, self-sustaining sooner and workers can start saving sooner," said Claudia Armijo, executive director of New Mexico Work and Save, in the news release.
The executives also billed the partnership as the nation's first auto-enroll IRA multistate program.
The Colorado and New Mexico programs are state-facilitated payroll-withholding IRA savings programs for private-sector workers that do not have access to a workplace retirement savings plan. Both states enacted their programs through legislation passed in 2020.
The Colorado Secure Savings Program requires employers with five or more workers to make the state savings program available to their workforce if they do not offer one themselves. The New Mexico Work and Save Program is a program that employers can voluntarily make available to their workers.
Colorado is planning to implement its program in October 2022, while New Mexico has its implementation set for July 2024.
The anticipated partnership is expected to give almost 1 million Coloradans and nearly 430,000 New Mexicans access to a retirement savings option, the news release said.
