New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Program Names First Executive Director

The New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Board has announced Todd Hassler as the first executive director of the state’s Secure Choice Savings Program. Hassler’s appointment comes after a nationwide search for a leader to implement a state-sponsored retirement plan for private-sector workers whose employers do not offer a retirement plan.

The New Jersey Secure Choice Act was signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy in March 2019, and its independent administrative body, the Secure Choice Savings Board, held its first meeting in December 2021. The statute is designed to help more private-sector employees save for the future.

“Everyone, regardless of their place of employment, deserves the opportunity to securely plan for retirement,” said Murphy, in a press release. “Secure Choice was designed to harness the collective investment power of a mutual fund while making it more easily accessible for the average New Jerseyan to save. Under Todd’s leadership, we will make that a reality for nearly 2 million New Jerseyans.”

In his most recent role, Hassler served as a senior investigator for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefit Security Administration, a role in which he analyzed benefit plan designs and investigated operational failures. Prior to this role with the DOL, Hassler spent 15 years in the private sector in various roles overseeing retirement plans and human resources. Hassler holds a bachelor’s degree in human resources from Immaculata University in Pennsylvania and earned a master’s degree in human resource development from Villanova University.

“I am very excited to be a part of the launch of New Jersey’s Secure Choice Savings Program,” Hassler said in the release. “This program will provide a valuable benefit to many New Jerseyans who previously may not have had access to a retirement savings plan.”

Overall, there are 16 state-sponsored programs and two city-sponsored IRA programs nationwide. In such programs, workers have saved more than $574 million, according to information from the Center for Retirement Initiatives at Georgetown University.