Would You Trust New York State to Manage Your Retirement?

As a small business, would you really want New York State to manage your company’s retirement plan? It puts all the responsibility back on you, again.

In October 2021 New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation Assembly Bill A3213A which mandates that all private-sector employers who have been in business for 2 years and have 10 or more employees are required to provide retirement plans for their employees. The bill requires any businesses not currently offering a retirement plan for their employees must automatically enroll them in New York State’s Secure Choice Savings Plan.

The new law requires small businesses with 10 employees to either provide a retirement savings plan of their own or be forced to participate and administer the New York State sanctioned Secure Choice Savings Plan. This means that these employers must provide information about the plan to employees, manage the opt-in/opt-out participation of the plan through New York State and automatically enroll employees to participate in the plan and manage the retirement savings account arrangement and administer the payroll deduction and deposit for each employee.

The Secure Choice Savings Plan that was established in 2018 is “a self-sufficient retirement savings program in the form of an automatic enrollment payroll deduction IRA.” The program – in which enrollment previously was entirely optional — is overseen by the New York State Secure Choice Savings board that’s composed of nine appointed members.

The mandate from New York State is expected to affect 2.5 million NYS private-sector employees who are not offered a retirement savings plan through their employer.

The NYS Department of Taxation and Finance will oversee the development and implementation “as the board sees fit.”

The question is: Do you trust New York State to Manage a Retirement Plan for your Company?

  • When you have a problem, who will answer the phone? If you have ever worked with New York State you know exactly what we’re talking about.
  • What penalties will you be subjected to if something goes wrong?
  • Do you really want the burden of managing another New York State mandated plan?
  • What investment guidance and plan options will be provided?
  • If your employees have questions about the plan, where do you direct them to? An NYS employee?

If you are being forced to offer a retirement plan for your employees, why not work with professionals that know how to get the most out of retirement planning and will take care of the management burden for you. Hazard and Siegel have been helping people just like you solve the complexity of planning and managing retirement and financial planning for over 50 years. We have a better option and here’s why:

  • We offer a simple IRA savings plan that satisfies the NYS mandate
  • You also have the choice to consider other retirement plan options such as a SIMPLE Plan or 401(k).
  • We will be available when you have questions or a problem arises.
  • Employees will have more options for retirement plans.
  • We will manage all administrative and reporting requirements
  • Your employees will have someone to answer questions so you don’t have to.
  • You won’t have to deal with another NYS “department”
  • If you choose to, you can always upgrade or customize your retirement plan as you grow
  • You and your employees will have a better understanding of the plan and a better experience

While we agree that retirement planning is an important part of every person’s financial future, we also understand that another business regulation from New York State is more burden placed on small businesses. We can help you comply with this new law while offering more options for you and your employees. To learn more visit our Investing & Retirement page. Or call us for a free consultation 315-414-0722.