2025 STATE PROGRAM STATUS

As of January 1, 2025, there are 20 states that have enacted new programs for private sector workers (and also 2 cities (for a total of 22 programs), although the cities will not move forward to implement due to state legal and program actions) and 17 of these states are auto-IRA program states.

As of June 9, 2025, 14 of the 20 state programs (12 auto-IRA – CA, CO, CT, DE, IL, ME, MD, NV, NJ, OR, VT, VA) and 2 others – MA (MEP) and WA (Marketplace) are open to all eligible employers and workers.

To date, 7 of the 17 auto-IRA programs have entered partnership agreements, and there are two distinct partnership arrangements.  In 2023, Colorado established the first partnership, creating the Colorado Partnership for a Dignified Retirement (PDR), and it has the following member states as of January 2025 (in order of entrance): Maine, Delaware, Vermont, and Nevada. The second partnership arrangement was established in 2024 when Rhode Island announced its intent to partner with the already established MyCTSavings Program (Connecticut) (View press release).

The 2025 state legislative sessions are winding down for many states. As of June 9, 2025, program amendments have been enacted in Hawaii, Minnesota, and Connecticut. Hawaii enacted legislation to switch from an opt-in model to an opt-out, automatic enrollment model. The programs that have launched or are scheduled to launch in 2025 include: Nevada (June 9, 2025) and New York (late 2025). See the map below for updates about states that have introduced bills so far this year (green color) and state program implementation. Login required to view bill tracking and program updates.

In 2024, at least 27 states introduced legislation to establish new programs, amend existing programs, or form study groups to explore their options. Two new auto-IRA programs were enacted – Washington enacted a new auto-IRA program in addition to their already existing Retirement Marketplace and Rhode Island enacted a new auto-IRA program.  The new programs that launched and opened to all eligible workers in 2024 included: Maine (January 2024), New Jersey (June 30, 2024), Delaware (July 1, 2024), and Vermont (December 2024).

In 2023, three new auto-IRA programs were enacted –  Minnesota, Nevada, Vermont and one new Multiple Employer Plan (MEP) in Missouri. Vermont changed its existing program from a voluntary MEP to an auto-IRA program.

Since 2012, at least 49 states and the District of Columbia have acted to implement a new program, study program options, or consider legislation to establish state-facilitated retirement savings programs. Historically, there are one or two new programs enacted every year.

Below are some of the 2025 legislative highlights to date:

• Connecticut extended the definition of “covered employee” to personal care attendants, allowed the Comptroller to impose a penalty for noncompliant employers, tied the program’s default contribution rate to federal law for participants who enroll on or after July 1, 2025 and allowed the comptroller to provide an applicable retirement saving vehicle for participants who receive a federal Saver’s Match contribution.
• Hawaii enacted program amendments to switch the program to an auto-enrollment opt-out model, clarify the definition of “covered employer,” repeal the limit on the total fees and expenses and appropriate funds to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations for the development and operation of the Program.
• Minnesota enacted program amendments to add temporary and seasonal workers to the definition of covered employees, add a certification process for employers that are not covered employers, detail program processes and timelines, and make other technical changes to the program.

2025 STATE LEGISLATIVE ACTION

Visit the CRI Supporters Homepage to access the 2025 state legislative map, detailed information on the progress of state program implementations, the State Resource Center and much more.

Click on this map to view quick links for program states
Click here to view 2025 map with detailed state legislative activity updates (login required)

2025 STATE PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION UPDATES

22 Programs (20 states and 2 cities)

To date, new programs have adopted one or a combination of these four models:

• Auto-IRA (employer participation required if no plan is already offered)
• Payroll deduction IRA (voluntary)
• Multiple Employer Plan (MEP) (voluntary)
• Marketplace (voluntary)

There are now 22 enacted retirement savings programs (20 states and 2 cities**) for private sector workers.

As of June 9, 2025, 14 of the 20 state programs (12 auto-IRA – CA, CO, CT, DE, IL, MD, ME, NJ, NV, OR, VA, VT) and 2 others – MA (MEP) and WA (Marketplace) are open to all eligible employers and workers.

**New York City’s program will no longer be implemented because New York State enacted an auto-IRA program and New York City would now become part of the state program. The Seattle, WA program is on hold indefinitely pending state legislative action.

***Vermont has changed its state program from a voluntary MEP enacted in 2017 to an auto-IRA program in 2023.  Program amendment legislation enacted in 2024 specifies the program should launch no later than July 1, 2026. The current timeline will launch the program well in advance of this deadline. The Vermont Saves Pilot Program, in partnership with Colorado, launched in October 2024.  The program opened to all eligible employers and employees in December 2024. Employers were required to register by February 2025.

****Washington enacted a new auto-IRA program in March 2024.  Because WA already has a voluntary marketplace and it remains in place, the enactment of the new auto-IRA program does not increase the number of states with programs.

*****The New Mexico Work and $ave IRA Program was scheduled to be implemented on or before July 1, 2024, but has since been placed on an indefinite hold with no known new implementation date.

For an overview of all the state programs (with hyperlinks to state program websites and additional information), see State-Facilitated Retirement Savings Programs: A Snapshot of Plan Design Features (23-03, June 30, 2023 UPDATE).

PROGRAM LAUNCH AND EMPLOYER TIMELINES

The lessons from older auto-IRA programs (i.e., OR, IL, and CA) suggest that state programs can shorten their timelines for onboarding employers. Also, the creation of new inter-state partnerships supports shorter launch and onboarding timelines, as illustrated by the more recent launch of Maine’s MERIT program.

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Auto-IRA programs:

California: The Board launched a pilot program in November 2018 and statewide enrollment began in July 2019. Registration was initially implemented in three phases: employers with 100 or more employees required to register by September 30, 2020; employers with 50 or more employees required to register by June 30, 2021; and employers with 5 or more employees required to register by June 30, 2022. There was a wave for employers that had not yet received a registration notice, who were required to register by December 31, 2023. The final wave, for employers with 1-4 employees, closes on December 31, 2025.

Colorado: The Colorado Secure Savings Program launched its pilot program in October 2022 and statewide enrollment began in January 18, 2023 with three waves: Wave 1, for employers with 50+ employees, to register by March 15, 2023; Wave 2, for employers with 15-49 employees, to register by May 15, 2023; and Wave 3, for employers with 5-14 employees, to register by June 30, 2023. The registration deadline for newly eligible employers as of April 2024 was May 15, 2024.

Connecticut: MyCTSavings launched its employer pilot program at the end of October 2021 and opened to all eligible employers on April 1, 2022. The first wave of the program (for employers with 100 or more employees) was completed in June 2022; the second wave (26-99 employees) was completed in October 2022; and the third and final wave (5-25 employees) was completed in March 2023. The program deadline for all employers was extended to August 31, 2023.

Delaware: The DE EARNS Pilot Program for employers and employees launched on May 1, 2024. The full program opened to all eligible employers on July 1, 2024. Employers were required to register by October 15, 2024.

Illinois: Illinois Secure Choice rolled out three of its five waves of eligible employer registrations between 2018 and 2019, but two new waves of smaller employers were authorized to be added in 2021 (the program expanded the number of employers covered by law from those with 25 or more employees to those with 5 or more employees). The fourth wave (16-24 employees) was completed in November 2022, and the registration deadline for the fifth wave (5-15 employees) was November 1, 2023.

Maine: MERIT opened its Pilot Program for employers and employees in October 2023. The full program launch, open to all eligible employers, began in January 2024. Employers with 15 or more employees were required to register by April 30, 2024, those with less than 15 employees were required to register by June 30, 2024, and final deadline for all covered employers was December 31, 2024.

Maryland: Maryland$aves launched its pilot in June 2022 and the full program launched on September 15, 2022. Employers were required to register by December 1, 2022.

Minnesota: The program is projected to launch sometime between January 1, 2026 and March 30, 2026.

Nevada: On June 9, 2025, the Nevada Employee Savings Trust (NEST) began on June 9, 2025 for all eligible employers. All employers are required to register by September 1, 2025.

New Jersey: The New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Pilot Program for employers and employees launched May 15, 2024. The full program opened to all eligible employers on June 30, 2024. However, there was a phased timeline for employers to register that required those with 40 or more employees to register by September 15, 2024, and those with fewer than 40 (25-39 employees) to register by November 15, 2024.

New York: The Board anticipates the launch of the program pilot in mid-2025 and a full program launch in late 2025.

Oregon: OregonSaves opened to employers in 2017, and it is currently completing the onboarding of the smallest employers (those with 4 or fewer employees). The registration deadline for businesses with at least one employee was July 31, 2023. The registration deadline for newly eligible employers was July 31, 2024.

Vermont: The Vermont Saves Pilot Program, in partnership with Colorado, launched its pilot program in October 2024. The program opened to all eligible employers and employees on December 1, 2024. Employers were required to register by March 1, 2025.

Virginia: The RetirePathVA retirement savings program facilitated by the Commonwealth Savers Plan opened its pilot program in February 2023, and the program opened to all eligible employers on June 20, 2023. All employers were required to register by February 15, 2024.

Programs in Hawaii, Missouri, Rhode Island, and Washington are developing and finalizing implementation timelines.

It is important to note that any employer can registered to participate in a state program at any time and does not have to wait for their enrollment wave or phase to do so.  The deadline serves as a comply by date. 

Other State Programs: The Massachusetts’ CORE MEP opened for enrollment in October 2017, and the Washington State Retirement Marketplace opened in March 2018. The New Mexico Retirement Plan Marketplace and the New Mexico Work and $ave IRA Program had a July 1, 2024 implementation deadline, but the implementation date has since been delayed with no new date set.

State Partnerships: To date, 7 of the 17 auto-IRA programs have entered partnership agreements, and there are two distinct partnership arrangements.  In 2023, Colorado established the first partnership, creating the Colorado Partnership for a Dignified Retirement (PDR), and it has the following member states as of January 2025 (in order of entrance): Maine, Delaware, Vermont, and Nevada. The second partnership arrangement was established in 2024 when Rhode Island announced its intent to partner with the already established MyCTSavings Program (Connecticut).

Colorado Partnership for a Dignified Retirement

The first state partnership was forged in 2023. Since then, the Colorado Partnership for a Dignified Retirement (Colorado SecureSavings Program) has now entered into inter-state agreements with three program states as of April 30, 2025: Delaware, Maine, Nevada, and Vermont. Rhode Island has also announced its intent to partner with Connecticut.

On December 17, 2024, the Nevada Employee Savings Trust (NEST) announced its intent to enter the Colorado Partnership for a Dignified Retirement. On April 30, 2025, Colorado officially announced that Nevada had entered the Partnership for a Dignified Retirement (View press release).

On November 20, 2024, Rhode Island Treasurer announced the intent of the Rhode Island Savers Program to partner with the MyCTSavings Program (View press release).

On June 26, 2024, the Colorado Secure Savings Program and Vermont Saves announced a partnership (View press release).

On December 7, 2023, the Delaware EARNS board approved negotiating a final partnership agreement with the Colorado Partnership for a Dignified Retirement (View press release).

In June 2023, the Colorado Secure Savings Program and the Maine Retirement Investment Trust agreed to finalize the details of an interstate partnership, which was officially announced on August 15, 2023 (View press release).

In November 2021, the Colorado Secure Savings Program and the New Mexico Work and $ave Program signed a first-in-the-country Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to pursue a formalized partnership agreement for their auto-enroll IRA programs. The MoC highlights areas of collaboration including shared program administration and financial services, marketing and outreach support, program evaluation and research, as well as data collection and participant privacy. As of June 2023, the Colorado and New Mexico partnership is currently on hold pending additional potential modifications to the design of the New Mexico state program.