Delaware Exploring Interstate Cooperation in Retirement Plan

Delaware is pursuing an interstate collaboration for the Delaware Expanding Access for Retirement and Necessary Savings (EARNS) Program. It launched the program in 2022. 

According to the office of State Treasurer Colleen Davis, the EARNS Program board on July 13 voted unanimously to authorize her office to evaluate entering into an interstate partnership or multistate consortium to support the launch and future success of EARNS.

The Delaware Treasury and AKF Consulting Group determined that interstate cooperation could result in lower start-up costs and faster launch times for EARNS, as well as lower initial fees for participants and the possibility of accelerating decreases in program fees.   

“We’re thrilled with the strong support of the EARNS Program Board as we seek interstate cooperation to support this innovative retirement savings program for Delaware,” Treasurer Colleen Davis said in a press release, continuing, “Partnering with other programs would allow for collaborative decision making with industry leaders and benefit the program as it moves towards its launch.”

Innovation

The move is another innovation in Delaware’s effort to provide retirement plan coverage. The EARNS program itself, which came into being when Gov. John Carney (D) on Aug. 18, 2022 signed into law the measure creating it, is intended to be a public-private partnership that will encourage—but not replace or compete with—employer-sponsored retirement plans. 

EARNS will apply to any person, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, or other entity that does business in Delaware, including nonprofits with at least five covered employees that has been in business in Delaware for at least six months in the immediately preceding calendar year.

And there is precedent for Delaware pursuing interstate partnerships, Davis has pointed out; she notes that the state is part of a multistate consortium—the National ABLE Alliance—in operating DEPENDABLE, the plan by which Delaware provides a savings vehicle for people with disabilities.