Signed by Governor Kathy Hochul

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes that employees will be automatically enrolled into the secure choice savings program.

Highlights:

• Establishes a retirement savings program in the form of an automatic enrollment payroll deduction IRA, known as the New York state secure choice savings program (Sec. 1).

• Establishes the process for enrollment including the process by which an employee may opt not to participate in the program or opt out after they have already been enrolled  (Sec. 1).

• Requires each participating employer to have a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement to allow each employee to participate in the program at most nine months after the board opens the program for enrollment (Sec. 1).

• Establishes participating employers as not having any liability for an employee's decision regarding whether to participate in, or opt out of, the program or for the investment decisions of the board or of any enrollee (Sec. 1).

• Requires participating employers to automatically enroll in the program each of their employees who have not opted out of participation in the program and shall provide payroll deduction retirement savings arrangements for such employees and deposit, on behalf of such employees, these funds into the program (Sec. 1).

• Specifies the deduction of contributions from an employee's wages shall not begin until the thirtieth day after such employee has been enrolled in the program (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes an open enrollment period at least once every year, during which employees who previously opted out of the program may enroll in the program (Sec. 1).

• Prohibits a person or entity engaged in a business, industry, profession, trade, or other enterprise in New York state, whether for profit or not for profit, that offers a qualified retirement plan to terminate such plan for the purposes of participating in the program (Sec. 1).

• Establishes "employer" to mean a person or entity engaged in a business, industry, profession, trade, or other enterprise in New York state, whether for profit or not for profit that (Sec. 1): 

• Has at all times during the previous calendar year employed at least 10 employees in the state; and 

• Has been in business at least 2 years; and 

• Has not offered a qualified retirement plan in the preceding 2 years.

• Establishes "participating employer" to mean an employer that elects to facilitate access to the program's payroll deduction IRA as provided for by this article for its employees who are enrolled in the program (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text