The Colorado retirement mandate requires most private-sector businesses with five or more employees to either offer a qualified retirement plan or register for Colorado SecureSavings, a state-run payroll-deduction Roth IRA with automatic enrollment. The rule applies to for-profit and nonprofit employers that have been in business at least two years and haven’t offered a qualified plan in the past two years.1FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24 – 24-54.3-102 Missing your deadline exposes you to fines of up to $100 per eligible worker each year, capped at $5,000, though the law builds in a grace period and formal notice before any penalty is assessed.2Justia. Colorado Code 24-54.3-107 – Colorado Secure Savings Program – Rules
Which Employers the Mandate Covers
Under C.R.S. § 24-54.3-102, your business is covered if it meets all three of these tests: you employed five or more people at any point during the previous calendar year, you have been in business at least two years, and you have not offered a qualified retirement plan to any employees in the past two years.1FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24 – 24-54.3-102 For-profit and nonprofit organizations are treated the same way.
If you already offer a tax-qualified plan, you are exempt. The statute lists the common ones that count: 401(k), 403(b), SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, and 457(b) plans, along with other arrangements qualified under the Internal Revenue Code.1FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24 – 24-54.3-102 Being exempt doesn’t mean you can ignore the program. You still need to certify your exemption through the SecureSavings portal using the access code the state mails you. Let that certification lapse and your business can be flagged as non-compliant during a routine audit.3Colorado SecureSavings. Program Details
Businesses that fall below the five-employee threshold or haven’t been operating for two years are not required to join, but they can enroll voluntarily if they want to offer the benefit.4FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24 – 24-54.3-104
Registration Deadlines
Colorado phased in the mandate by employer size. Businesses with 50 or more employees had the earliest deadline, followed by mid-sized and then smaller employers. All of those deadlines have passed. If your business received a notification letter before January 1, 2026, your registration window has already closed, and you should register now rather than wait for an enforcement notice.3Colorado SecureSavings. Program Details
Newly eligible businesses, meaning those that recently crossed the five-employee or two-year threshold, must register by May 15, 2026.3Colorado SecureSavings. Program Details The program sends access codes by mail or email when you become eligible. If you’re unsure whether you’ve been identified, check the portal or contact the program instead of waiting for a letter.
How to Register and Run Payroll
Registration happens on the Colorado SecureSavings employer portal. Have two things ready: your Federal Employer Identification Number and the access code from your notification letter.5Colorado SecureSavings. Employers The access code is what links your account to the state’s tracking system, so hold onto that letter.
Once you’re in, you upload your employee roster using a template the portal provides and set up your payroll contribution process. The portal integrates with several major payroll providers, including Gusto, Paylocity, and QuickBooks Online, at no extra cost from the program. If your payroll software doesn’t integrate directly, you can upload contribution files manually. You can also grant your payroll provider “teammate” access so they manage the roster and contributions for you.6Colorado SecureSavings. Payroll Providers
After you submit, the state issues a digital confirmation of compliance. Download it and keep it with your records. That receipt is your proof of timely registration if questions come up later.
What Your Employees Get
Every eligible employee is added to the program once you register. Eligibility means at least 18 years old, at least 180 days on the job, and earning wages subject to Colorado income tax.1FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24 – 24-54.3-102 Enrollment is automatic. Workers who do nothing during the initial 30-day notification period are enrolled at the default settings, and payroll deductions begin.7Colorado SecureSavings. Program Details
The default contribution is 5% of gross pay, taken after tax because the money goes into a Roth IRA.7Colorado SecureSavings. Program Details Employees can raise or lower the rate through the participant portal at any time. If they take no action, the rate steps up by 1% each January 1 after enrollment, capped at 8%.4FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24 – 24-54.3-104
Workers who don’t want to participate can opt out before the 30-day window closes, and no deductions will be made. Those who opt out later can stop future contributions and withdraw anything already deducted.7Colorado SecureSavings. Program Details The account belongs to the employee, so if they leave the job or move out of state, it goes with them.8Colorado SecureSavings. What Happens to My Account if I Move Out of State or Change Jobs
What Employers Are Not On the Hook For
Facilitating SecureSavings does not make you a fiduciary. Employers carry no responsibility and no liability for investment decisions or account performance.5Colorado SecureSavings. Employers Your role is administrative: register, upload the roster, remit payroll deductions. The state-appointed board and its investment managers handle the rest. If an employee asks you which fund to pick or complains about returns, the right answer is to point them to the participant portal and the program’s customer service, not to advise them.
Penalties and the Grace Period Before They Hit
Employers who ignore the mandate face fines under C.R.S. § 24-54.3-107, enforced by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment in partnership with the program. The fine runs up to $100 per eligible employee per year, with a $5,000 annual cap per business.2Justia. Colorado Code 24-54.3-107 – Colorado Secure Savings Program – Rules
Several guardrails delay the first dollar of penalty. Enforcement can’t start until at least one year after the program is established or one year after your business was scheduled to enter, whichever is later. You then have to receive a formal notice of noncompliance, and the state must wait at least three months after that notice before assessing any fine.2Justia. Colorado Code 24-54.3-107 – Colorado Secure Savings Program – Rules If a notice arrives, use that three-month window to register, upload your roster, and get deductions running.
A 50-employee business reaches the $5,000 cap. A 10-employee business is exposed to $1,000 a year. The amounts are modest compared with federal ERISA penalties for 401(k) violations, but they repeat every year you stay out of compliance, and the registration itself costs nothing.