Minnesota employers with 50 to 99 employees have until December 31 to register for the state’s Secure Choice retirement program or certify that they already offer a qualified plan. That is 70 days from today. Employers in this size group began their window on July 1, the state’s program page says, and firms with 25 to 49 workers follow in 2027.
Who has to act by December 31
The state’s program details page says employers must register if they have five or more covered employees and do not offer a qualified retirement plan. Minnesota is rolling the requirement out in phases by headcount. Employers must enroll “by the last day of their phase,” the state says.
For a business with 50 to 99 covered employees, the deadline is December 31, 2026. Employers with 100 or more had until June 30, 2026. The schedule continues with 25 to 49 employees by June 30, 2027, 10 to 24 by December 31, 2027, and 5 to 9 by June 30, 2028. A worker at a mid-sized Minnesota firm can ask the employer which group it falls in and whether it already runs a plan.
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Registering or claiming the exemption
Employers that already offer a qualified plan should certify an exemption through the state’s online portal using their access code, the program details page says. The Plan Sponsor Council of America wrote in June that employers that will offer a plan before their deadline also do not need to register, but must still request the exemption on the state site.
The state’s home page says employers “will be provided an opportunity to explain why they qualify for an exemption once they have been contacted about participating.” It does not list the conditions or the claim steps on that page, so the portal and the program’s employer line are the places to ask.
Registration requires an employer identification number, a unique pass code sent by mail or email, the payroll provider and payroll schedule, bank information and employee information, the council reported. The state says employer-side enrollment comes at no cost and needs only light account maintenance. Employers with questions can call 1-855-938-1474 or email secure.choice@state.mn.us.
What happens to employees’ paychecks
Once an employer registers, employees are added to the program and get 30 days to opt out or customize their account, the state says. The employer is then reminded to begin payroll deductions. The Ogletree Deakins law firm, cited by the council, says employers must notify employees at least 14 days before deductions begin.
The default savings rate is 5% of gross pay, taken after taxes and deposited into a Roth individual retirement account, according to the state’s contributions page. Workers can set a different rate from 1% up to 100%, within IRS limits. The rate rises 1 point a year, starting in January for savers enrolled at least six months, until it reaches 8%, and a worker can decline an increase.
For 2026 the IRA contribution limit is $7,500, or $8,600 for savers 50 or older, the state says. The Roth account belongs to the worker. The state describes the employer as not responsible for establishing IRAs, answering investment questions, managing investment options or processing distributions.
A worker who already saves elsewhere and does not want the payroll deduction can use that same 30-day window to opt out. The state’s contributions page also says savers can change the rate at any time, so a worker who stays in can turn the default 5% up or down after the account is open.
Employers keep two ongoing duties. They must send payroll contributions and maintain employee records, including rate changes, new hires and terminations, the program details page says. A firm that registers in December is therefore signing up for a payroll task that continues every pay period afterward.
The state stresses the limits of its role. Roth IRAs are not exclusive to Secure Choice and can be opened outside it, the program page says, and an employer’s facilitation of the program is not an endorsement of the program, the Roth IRAs or their investments. Payroll contributions to a Secure Choice Roth IRA, it adds, “offer some tax benefits and consequences.”
Penalties and what the state has not published
The council, citing Ogletree Deakins, says fines can reach $100 per employee after the second year of noncompliance and can rise in later years. The state’s program pages do not list penalties, so that figure rests on the law firm’s account.
The law behind the program was signed in May 2023. Minnesota began a soft launch on January 1, 2026, with employers of any size invited to join early, and the first required phase, for firms of 100 or more, ran from April 1 to June 30.
A firm that has not registered or certified an exemption by December 31 has missed its phase deadline. The open question for a worker at a 50-to-99-person company is whether the employer has registered, certified an exemption or done neither, because that answer decides whether a 5% after-tax Roth deduction is coming.
Does your Minnesota employer have until December 31 to act?
Once a firm registers, employees are added, get 30 days to opt out and then have 5% of gross pay moved into an after-tax Roth IRA. For a worker who also counts on Social Security or a pension, how each account is taxed later decides how much of that savings is spendable.
The story’s money question is who must set up the plan; the related job is deciding where retirement money comes from once it exists. The Retirement Tax & Withdrawal Planner includes four calculators (provisional income, IRMAA tier, RMD schedule, Roth bracket fill), the senior deduction and the account withdrawal order. It does not cover Secure Choice enrollment, which runs through the state.
Plan which account to draw first with the Retirement Tax & Withdrawal Planner →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
