Valor Payroll Solutions
State Mandated Retirement Plans
Your Small Business Payroll Compliance Partner
According to Guideline, there are more than 5.8 million small businesses (defined as employing 0-99 employees) in this country that employ 42 million workers. Of those 42 million, 74% do not have access to any retirement plan options, and 90% do not have access to a 401k plan.
To help bridge the gap of available retirement options for employees of small businesses, several states have enacted legislation to offer state retirement plans and some have even begun to mandate that employers offer retirement plans to employees.
Small businesses have several options for providing retirement plans to employees, which can be found in the DOL’s Choosing a Retirement Solution for Your Small Business guide. By choosing to voluntarily offer a retirement plan to employees, employers can get ahead of state mandates, while also helping employees to secure their financial future.
We’ve outlined current state legislation below with links to additional resources.
| State | State-Mandated Retirement Program | Who Must Comply? |
| CA | CalSavers | Employers with 5 or more employees |
| Colorado | Colorado Secure Savings Program | Employers with 5 or more employees who have been in business for at least 2 years |
| Connecticut | MyCTSavings | Employers with 5 or more employees paid more than $5,000 per year |
| Delaware | Delaware EARNS | Target date 1/1/2025 – Employers with more than 5 employees who have been in business in the state for 6 or more months |
| Hawaii | Hawaii Retirement Savings Program | Target date TBD – Employers with 1 or more employees who have been in business for 2+ years |
| Illinois | Illinois Secure Choice | Employers with 5 or more employees who have been in business for at least 2 years |
| Maine | Maine Retirement Savings Program | Employers with 5 or more employees who have been in business for at least 2 years and have not offered a qualifying plan in the preceding 2 calendar years (eff 4/30/24 for employers with 15+ employees and 6/30/24 for employers with 5-14 employees) |
| Maryland | Maryland$aves | All employers that have at least 1 W-2 employee, have been in business for at least 2 years, and use an automated payroll system |
| Massachusetts | CORE | Voluntary; available to nonprofit organizations with 20 employees or fewer |
| Minnesota | Secure Choice Retirement Program | Target date 1/1/2025 – Employers with 1 or more employees that have been in business in the state for at least 1 year |
| Missouri | Missour Workplace Retirement Savings Plan | Target date 9/1/2024 – Voluntary |
| Nevada | Nevada Employee Savings Trust | Target date 7/1/2025 – Employers with 5+ employees who have been in business for at least 36 months and have not offered a qualifying plan in the 3 preceding years |
| New Jersey | Secure Choice Savings Plan | Employers with 25 or more employees that have been in business for at least 2 years |
| New Mexico | New Mexico Work & $ave | Target date 7/1/2024 – Voluntary |
| New York | New York State Secure Choice Savings Program | Target date TBD – Employers with 10 or more employees who have been in business for at least 2 years and have not offered a qualified plan in the preceding 2 years |
| Oregon | OregonSaves | All employers |
| Vermont | VTSaves | Employers with 5+ employees |
| Virginia | RetirePath | Employers with 25 or more employees that have been in business for at least 2 years |
| Washington | Washington Small Business Retirement Marketplace | Voluntary – State sponsored retirement marketplace |
