Working to Bring Retirement Solutions to New Mexico’s Small Businesses & Their Employees

Public Private Strategies proudly joined AARP New Mexico and the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce recently to highlight a proposal to expand retirement savings options for New Mexico small businesses. 

New Mexico workers struggle to attain financial security, especially when it comes to saving for retirement. AARP research has found about 62% of New Mexico’s private-sector workers, or roughly 336,000 people, lack access to a way to save for retirement out of their regular paycheck at work. This particularly impacts New Mexico’s small business owners - more than half (56%) say they are concerned about their employees having enough money to retire. 

New Mexico small business owners treat their employees like family -- they want their employees to have an option to save for retirement at work, but struggle to that opportunity due to the cost, time, and complications involved. That’s likely why almost two-thirds of New Mexico small businesses (65%) support state legislation that would create a state-facilitated retirement option. Similarly, two in three New Mexico small business owners say they would likely participate in a state-facilitated program. 

Work & Save programs are public-private partnerships between the state and the private sector to allow employees to save for retirement automatically through simple payroll deductions. Programs like this are in effect in states like Oregon and Illinois, helping workers easily save for their financial future. New Mexico legislators are currently considering similar options to offer a state plan to workers; however, more work must be done to educate employers and to better understand the needs of small business owners on this topic. 

That’s why we traveled to New Mexico for two events, including a New Mexico Business Leader Roundtable. Featured speakers at the roundtable included State Treasurer Tim Eichenberg; State Representative Gail Armstrong; Ernie C'de Baca,  Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce President and CEO; Gerri Madrid Davis, Director of Financial Security & Consumer Affairs for State Advocacy & Strategy Integration at AARP; and DeAnza Valencia, Associate State Director for Advocacy at AARP New Mexico. The roundtable provided opportunities for lawmakers and state leaders to listen to and learn from small business owners about their retirement security concerns. The conversation included examples of how a state retirement option could help small businesses recruit and retain top talent. 

Learn more about AARP’s work in New Mexico or sign up for our updates to follow our work on Work & Save throughout the country.