Earlier this month, I received an exciting update from Elizabeth Bordowitz, the executive director of the Maine Retirement Investment Trust (MERIT). As of June 18, MERIT cleared $1 million in assets, with nearly 5,000 funded accounts and an average payroll contribution of $49.86. That’s the first million dollars saved for hardworking Mainers across the state, at a time when many of us are concerned about the cost of living.

The Maine Retirement Savings Program was created in 2021 by L.D. 1622, the Work and Save Bill, which I sponsored. It addresses the second of the three pillars of financial security: earnings, savings, and Social Security. The program is a way for working Mainers to contribute to a Roth IRA directly from their paycheck. It’s simple, portable, and automatic, making it easy for folks who are unfamiliar with the world of finance to create a financial cushion. It supports our small business economy and gives Mainers the tools they need to save for retirement.

Employers who don’t offer their own retirement savings plans will facilitate a deduction for their employees straight from their paycheck. Employers do not contribute to the plan, so there’s no cost to them. They merely ensure the facilitation of the employee’s contribution. The deducted funds go into a Roth IRA, following participants from job to job until that person is ready to retire. As people move from job to job, as most people do over the years, it’s important they not lose the progress they have made in saving for retirement. With MERIT, savings travel with the employee.

According to data from AARP, approximately 46% of private-sector workers in Maine — about 235,000 people — do not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement savings program. Nationally, 26% of working-age adults say they have no retirement savings at all. MERIT addresses this lack of savings and provides an easy, practical means for Mainers to work hard — and save — throughout their working lives. It is critical that this program succeed so that all Mainers can have a financially secure and stable retirement.

So far, MERIT has registered almost 1,500 employers. If you haven’t already, mark your calendars for June 30. On this date, all Maine employers should be registered with MERIT. (It costs nothing to register.) Known as Maine’s “automatic IRA program,” all Maine employers with five or more employees must register with MERIT by this date. If they already offer their employees a qualified retirement plan, then they must certify the exemption.

If you haven’t already registered, it’s a simple process: Go to MERIT’s easy-to-use online portal at meritsaves.com. Once there, participating employees can manage their participation, set their contribution percentage, choose among investment options, and designate beneficiaries. Please note that employees can opt out or change the amount they contribute (or their investment selections) at any time. If you stay enrolled, your account and your money will follow you from job to job.

Process for employers

• Go to meritsaves.com.

• Set up an account using your unique access code.

• Complete the registration.

• Wait 30 days for MERIT to notify your employees.

• Deduct your employee’s contributions from their pay and remit it to their MERIT accounts.

Process for employees

• Receive three emails (or letters) from MERIT explaining your options.

• Open up your account on meritsaves.com.

• Make your choices.

• Review your account contributions.

This program is already making a big difference. Although I am termed out of the Maine Senate, I will continue to follow its progress — and success. Mainers work hard, and they deserve to have a means to easily save for their hard-earned, well-deserved retirement. If you have any questions about this process, please reach out to MERIT’s executive director, Elizabeth Bordowitz, at Elizabeth.Bordowitz@mainesaves.org or (207) 888-4706.

For other legislative or state government matters, feel free to contact me directly at Eloise.Vitelli@legislature.maine.gov or my Senate office at (207) 287-1515.

Sen. Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, represents Senate District 24 in the Maine Senate, which includes all of Sagadahoc County and the town of Dresden in Lincoln County.