SB 855 - Hawaii Retirement Savings Act

• Clarifies the definition of "covered employer" to include any person in business in Hawaii with one or more employees, excluding federal/state government and employers that offered or maintained a qualified retirement plan at any time in the preceding two years.

• Converts the Hawaii Retirement Savings Program from an opt-in to an automatic enrollment system, requiring covered employers to automatically enroll employees unless they elect not to participate.

• Requires covered employers to withhold and remit payroll deduction contributions from employees' paychecks and transmit them to the program by the 15th of the following month.

• Establishes penalties for covered employers who fail to enroll employees: $25 per month of non-enrollment and $50 per month for continued non-enrollment after penalty assessment.

• Repeals the 75 basis points annual fee limit on total program fees and expenses, allowing fees to be kept "as low as practicable" without a specific cap.

• Effective July 1, 2025.