Auto-IRA Momentum Grows as States OK Bipartisan Retirement Laws

Opposition to state-sponsored retirement programs appears to be receding as once-loyal Republican dissenters begin backing business mandates to build nest eggs for almost all private-sector workers.

Delaware in August became the 11th state and fifth in the last two years to enact automatic-IRA legislation, propped up by an overwhelming House vote and unanimous GOP support in the Senate. Republican Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity has endorsed a similar measure drafted by her Democratic predecessor, and red states such as Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri have introduced bills of their own.

A tight labor market brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and ...