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The current state of state-sponsored retirement programs

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Guideline Team

In recent years, states across the country have enacted retirement savings programs to help individuals save for retirement.

As of August 2024, 20 states have enacted or created programs, with dozens of others considering legislation.1 The rules of these state mandated programs vary greatly from state to state, but they could help bridge the retirement gap for as many as 41 million U.S. workers who currently don’t have access to an employer-sponsored plan.2

As a company that was founded to help close the retirement access gap, we’re incredibly excited by these new developments and the renewed interest in retirement savings. We created this resource hub to provide relevant information for business owners and key dates and will continue to update it as state sponsored plans take shape and new states join the movement.

California

  • Program: Employers with one or more employees are required to provide access to CalSavers or a private retirement plan.
  • Status: Active
  • Upcoming deadline: December 31, 2025 for businesses with 1-4 employees. Businesses with 5 or more employees should set up as soon as possible to help ensure compliance and potentially avoid penalties. Newly eligible businesses have until December 31 of whichever year they become eligible.Penalties: CalSavers announced on January 12, 2022 that it will begin to impose penalties on non-compliant employers with 100+ employees.

Connecticut

  • Program: Connecticut Secure Choice Savings Plan is a retirement savings plan for private-sector workers with no access to an employer-sponsored retirement fund. The program will not be mandatory for businesses with fewer than five employees or those that already offer a work-based retirement savings option.
  • Status: Active
  • Upcoming deadline: March 30, 2023 for businesses with 5 or more employees. Businesses with 26 or more employees should set up as soon as possible to help ensure compliance.

Colorado

  • Program: The Colorado Secure Savings Program requires employers with 5 or more employees who have been in business for 2 or more years, and don’t have an existing qualifying retirement plan, to sign up for the state program or offer an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Colorado will be partnering with New Mexico’s Work and Save Act via a Memorandum of Cooperation to pursue a partnership agreement for their auto-enroll IRA programs, creating the first multi-state auto-enrollment IRA program in the nation.
  • Status: Active
  • Upcoming deadline: May 15, 2023 for businesses with 15-49 employees and June 30, 2023 for businesses with 5-14 employees. Businesses with 50 or more employees should set up as soon as possible to help ensure compliance.

Delaware

  • Program: Delaware EARNS. all eligible Delaware employers are required by law to facilitate EARNS if they don’t offer a retirement plan for their employees.
  • Status: Active
  • Upcoming deadline: October 15, 2024 for businesses with 5 or more employees

Hawaii

  • Program: Hawaii Retirement Savings. Requires covered employers to automatically enroll covered employees into the Hawaiʻi Retirement Savings Program unless the employee chooses to opt out.
  • Status: Program under development
  • Upcoming deadline: None

Illinois

  • Program: Employers who have 16 or more employees, have been in operation for at least two years, and do not offer an employer sponsored retirement, must provide access to Illinois Secure Choice or a private retirement plan. Exempt employers include those with fewer than 5 employees, have been in business for less than two years, or already offer an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
  • Status: Active
  • Upcoming deadline: November 1, 2023 for businesses with 5-15 employees. Businesses with 16 or more employees should set up as soon as possible to help ensure compliance. Those who do not comply with the Program may be subject to penalties and fines.

Maine

  • Program: MERIT. All Maine employers who have been in business for at least 2 years, have 5 or more employees, and don’t offer a qualified retirement plan for their employees are required by law to facilitate MERIT.
  • Status: Active
  • Upcoming deadline: Businesses with 15+ employees: April 30, 2024; Businesses with 5-14 employees: June 30, 2024 Penalties: 7/1/2025 - 6/30/2026: $20 per employee for non compliance, 7/1/2026 - 6/30/2027: $50 per employee for non compliance. After 7/1/2027: $100 per employee for noncompliance.

Maryland

  • Program: Maryland Saves will provide its workers with access to a payroll-deducted savings program if they are not eligible to participate in an existing employer plan.
  • Status: Active
  • Upcoming deadline: Businesses with one or more employees should set up as soon as possible to ensure compliance.

Massachusetts

  • Program: Nonprofit organizations with 20 or fewer employees must offer a retirement benefits plan through a 401(k) multiple employer plan (MEP) through the Massachusetts Defined Contribution CORE Plan or a private provider.
  • Status: Active
  • Upcoming deadline: None

Minnesota

Missouri

New Jersey

  • Program: RetireReady NJ. All eligible New Jersey employers are required by law to facilitate the program if they don't offer a retirement plan for their employees.
  • Status: Active
  • Upcoming deadlines: September 15, 2024 for employers with 40 or more employees, and November 15, 2024 for employers with 25-39 employees.

Nevada

New Mexico

  • Program: On February 26, 2021, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the New Mexico Work and Save Act, creating a voluntary Roth IRA savings option for workers without employer-based retirement accounts, plus an online marketplace (the Retirement Savings Plan Marketplace) of private-sector providers for employers. New Mexico and Colorado entered into a formalized partnership agreement for their auto-enroll IRA programs, creating the first auto-enroll IRA multi-state program in the country.
  • Upcoming deadline: July 1, 2024

New York

  • Program: On October 21, 2021, Governor Hochul signed into law The New York State Secure Choice program, requiring all private employers who have employed at least 10 New York-based employees during the previous calendar year, and that have been in business for at least 2 years, to enroll their employees in the State program, or offer a qualified retirement plan. The State program follows a Roth IRA structure.
  • Status: Active
  • Upcoming deadline: None Although the Act was effective immediately, the program is not yet operational. Employers will have nine months until after the program is enacted to comply with the legislation and assume program responsibilities.

Oregon

  • Program: Employers of all size must offer a qualified retirement plan to their employees or implement OregonSaves.
  • Status: Active
  • Upcoming deadline: July 31, 2023 for businesses with 1-2 employees. Businesses with 3 or more employees should set up as soon as possible to help ensure compliance.

Rhode Island

Vermont

  • Program: VTSaves program. The program will automatically enroll workers who do not have access to a retirement plan through their employer in a Roth IRA account.
  • Status: Program under development
  • Upcoming deadline: None

Virginia

  • Program: RetirePathVA. Employers with 25+ employees, operating for 2 or more years, and don’t offer a retirement plan for their employees are required to facilitate RetirePath.
  • Status: Active
  • Upcoming deadline: Deadlines have passed. If an eligible employer fails to opt out, then they are faced with a $200 penalty per eligible employee per year. That means, at minimum, employers could be faced with a $5,000 fine per year.

Washington

  • Program: The Washington State Legislature created the Small Business Retirement Marketplace to provide small businesses and individuals access to a retirement plan. It is a website where employers and employees can shop and compare state-verified and low-cost retirement savings plans.
  • Status: Active
  • Upcoming deadline: None. The program is completely voluntary.

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  • The information provided herein is general in nature and is for informational purposes only. It should not be used as a substitute for specific tax, legal and/or financial advice that considers all relevant facts and circumstances. You are advised to consult a qualified financial adviser or tax professional before relying on the information provided herein.
  • 1
    Guideline has prepared this summary from third-party sources as of March 16, 2023. The information herein is considered to be reliable at the time of writing, may not necessarily be all-inclusive, is not guaranteed as to accuracy and is subject to change at any time without notice. The information provided herein is general in nature and is for informational purposes only. It should not be used as a substitute for specific tax, legal and/or financial advice that considers all relevant facts and circumstances. You are advised to consult a qualified financial adviser or tax professional before relying on the information provided herein. Deadlines, fees, and other program details are subject to change by the state without notice and should be checked prior to making any decisions. If you already offer a qualified employer-sponsored plan, exemptions may be required. Please consult with your states specific exemption information for more details.
  • 2
    The retirement gap of 41 million US workers is an approximation calculated from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 32% of workers not having access to retirement benefits and Statisa.com report of 127 million full time private workers who lack access to retirement benefits through their employer, both data points were from calendar year 2021.
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