Delaware News

First employers sign onto transformative Delaware EARNS retirement benefit

Office of the State Treasurer | State Treasurer Colleen C. Davis | Date Posted: Thursday, May 2, 2024


Delaware EARNS Logo

Small businesses and nonprofits throughout Delaware are poised to be the first to offer their employees access to the new EARNS retirement savings program from the Office of the State Treasurer.

Nearly a dozen private-sector employers will participate in a pilot of EARNS this month to help ensure systems are fully ready ahead of the program’s formal launch on July 1.
Among the participants is Pathways to Success of Georgetown, Del., a nonprofit that provides services to empower at-risk communities. “I feel very honored to be one of the employers that will be launching Delaware EARNS,” said Fayetta M. Blake, executive director of Pathways to Success and chair of the EARNS Program Board.

“Those of us who are smaller employers can face challenges in offering benefits, like retirement savings, that help attract and retain employees. Delaware EARNS will help level the playing field for small businesses and small nonprofits. I’m very excited about EARNS and have been from the very beginning.”

Sponsored by the Office of State Treasurer Colleen C. Davis, EARNS is a retirement savings program for private-sector workers who don’t have access to a workplace plan through their jobs. Employers with 5 or more Delaware employees (full or part-time) are required to facilitate EARNS if they don’t offer a qualified retirement plan, such as a 401(k).

“The start of the employer pilot is a true milestone,” Treasurer Davis said. “It’s thrilling to see a goal we have been working toward for years become a reality. We have nearly 150,000 private-sector workers in our state with no access to retirement savings through their employers. We now have a real opportunity to change that with the EARNS program.”

EARNS is no cost and liability-free to employers

Delaware employers that want to get a head start on offering access to a competitive retirement benefit can register starting as early as July 1 at earnsdelaware.com. For employers, there is no cost for facilitating the EARNS program and no plan-sponsor liability.

Employers have until October 15, 2024, to register or certify that they’re exempt from the EARNS requirement. Employers can be exempt if they offer a qualified retirement plan, have fewer than five employees, or have been in business less than six months.

Employers participating in the pilot:

  • Down Syndrome Association of Delaware
  • Great New Beginnings
  • Junebug’s Little Rubies
  • Just In Time Learning Academy
  • LaVante’ N. Dorsey & Associates
  • Leading Youth Through Empowerment (LYTE)
  • Limestone Therapeutic Massage Associates
  • My Sister’s Fault
  • Mike & Mel’s Family Restaurant
  • Pathways to Success
  • Sweet Lucy’s Ice Cream & Treats

For more information about Delaware EARNS, visit earnsdelaware.com or write to earns@delaware.gov.

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First employers sign onto transformative Delaware EARNS retirement benefit

Office of the State Treasurer | State Treasurer Colleen C. Davis | Date Posted: Thursday, May 2, 2024


Delaware EARNS Logo

Small businesses and nonprofits throughout Delaware are poised to be the first to offer their employees access to the new EARNS retirement savings program from the Office of the State Treasurer.

Nearly a dozen private-sector employers will participate in a pilot of EARNS this month to help ensure systems are fully ready ahead of the program’s formal launch on July 1.
Among the participants is Pathways to Success of Georgetown, Del., a nonprofit that provides services to empower at-risk communities. “I feel very honored to be one of the employers that will be launching Delaware EARNS,” said Fayetta M. Blake, executive director of Pathways to Success and chair of the EARNS Program Board.

“Those of us who are smaller employers can face challenges in offering benefits, like retirement savings, that help attract and retain employees. Delaware EARNS will help level the playing field for small businesses and small nonprofits. I’m very excited about EARNS and have been from the very beginning.”

Sponsored by the Office of State Treasurer Colleen C. Davis, EARNS is a retirement savings program for private-sector workers who don’t have access to a workplace plan through their jobs. Employers with 5 or more Delaware employees (full or part-time) are required to facilitate EARNS if they don’t offer a qualified retirement plan, such as a 401(k).

“The start of the employer pilot is a true milestone,” Treasurer Davis said. “It’s thrilling to see a goal we have been working toward for years become a reality. We have nearly 150,000 private-sector workers in our state with no access to retirement savings through their employers. We now have a real opportunity to change that with the EARNS program.”

EARNS is no cost and liability-free to employers

Delaware employers that want to get a head start on offering access to a competitive retirement benefit can register starting as early as July 1 at earnsdelaware.com. For employers, there is no cost for facilitating the EARNS program and no plan-sponsor liability.

Employers have until October 15, 2024, to register or certify that they’re exempt from the EARNS requirement. Employers can be exempt if they offer a qualified retirement plan, have fewer than five employees, or have been in business less than six months.

Employers participating in the pilot:

  • Down Syndrome Association of Delaware
  • Great New Beginnings
  • Junebug’s Little Rubies
  • Just In Time Learning Academy
  • LaVante’ N. Dorsey & Associates
  • Leading Youth Through Empowerment (LYTE)
  • Limestone Therapeutic Massage Associates
  • My Sister’s Fault
  • Mike & Mel’s Family Restaurant
  • Pathways to Success
  • Sweet Lucy’s Ice Cream & Treats

For more information about Delaware EARNS, visit earnsdelaware.com or write to earns@delaware.gov.

image_printPrint

Related Topics:  , , , , , , , ,


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.