If your business already sponsors a qualified retirement plan or employs fewer than five people, you opt out of Delaware EARNS by certifying your exemption through the program’s employer portal at earnsdelaware.vestwell.com, using your Employer Identification Number and the access code the state issued you.1Delaware EARNS. Employers – Delaware EARNS There is no paper Delaware EARNS opt-out form to download or mail; the certification is handled entirely online and takes only a few minutes.
Who Can Certify an Exemption
Delaware EARNS covers any business that employed at least five covered employees during the previous calendar year and has operated in Delaware for at least six months.2Delaware Code Online. 19 Delaware Code 38 – Delaware Expanding Access for Retirement and Necessary Saving Program If you fall under that five-employee threshold, you are not a covered employer and can certify that status through the portal without maintaining any plan.3Delaware EARNS. Program Details – Delaware EARNS
Larger employers qualify by maintaining what the statute calls a “specified tax-favored retirement plan.” That means a plan qualified under Internal Revenue Code sections 401(a), 401(k), 403(b), 408(k) (SEP-IRA), or 408(p) (SIMPLE IRA).2Delaware Code Online. 19 Delaware Code 38 – Delaware Expanding Access for Retirement and Necessary Saving Program An automatic-enrollment payroll-deduction IRA covering all your employees also counts, provided it meets any additional qualifications the EARNS Board sets.
What to Have Ready
Gather two things before you log in. The first is your nine-digit Federal Employer Identification Number, which appears on your IRS correspondence and tax returns. The second is your Delaware EARNS access code, a unique identifier the program mails to employers it has identified through state records.1Delaware EARNS. Employers – Delaware EARNS If no access code has arrived, contact the Delaware EARNS program or the State Treasurer’s office before you try to register.
You will also be asked about the plan you sponsor. Know the plan type (401(k), SEP-IRA, SIMPLE IRA, and so on) and the name of the financial institution that administers it. Having those details on hand keeps you from stopping mid-certification.
Certifying Your Exemption in the Portal
Everything happens at earnsdelaware.vestwell.com/register/employer.1Delaware EARNS. Employers – Delaware EARNS The same URL serves employers enrolling in the program and employers opting out; the system routes you based on your answers, so the initial “register” language is not a mistake.
- Enter your EIN and access code on the landing page.
- Select the reason you are exempt: either that you maintain a qualifying retirement plan, or that you have fewer than five employees.
- If you selected the plan-based exemption, identify the plan type and the financial institution that administers it.
- Review your entries and submit the certification.
Keep a confirmation for your records in case a compliance notice is sent in error later.
Deadline and Penalties for Missing It
Delaware has enforced registration deadlines since the program launched. In 2025, employers were required to register or certify their exemption by October 15 to avoid potential penalties in 2026.4State of Delaware. October 15 Deadline Approaching for Employers to Register for Delaware EARNS Watch the Delaware EARNS website and communications from the State Treasurer’s office for current deadlines, since the windows that apply to newly covered employers and any recertification cycles can shift.
Miss the deadline and the EARNS Board can impose administrative penalties of up to $250 per employee per year, capped at $5,000 per year. The statute builds in some runway. The Board must first issue a notice of non-compliance, and you then have 90 days from that notice to come into compliance before enforcement proceedings can begin. The Board also cannot initiate enforcement against a covered employer until at least one year after the employer’s first compliance date.2Delaware Code Online. 19 Delaware Code 38 – Delaware Expanding Access for Retirement and Necessary Saving Program That grace period matters most for businesses that have just crossed into coverage.
What Default Enrollment Would Mean
If you neither certify an exemption nor register, the state will eventually enroll your workforce by default, and you will have to facilitate payroll deductions into Roth IRAs for your employees. The EARNS Board sets a default contribution rate between 3% and 6% of each employee’s compensation, with authority to escalate that rate annually up to a 15% ceiling.2Delaware Code Online. 19 Delaware Code 38 – Delaware Expanding Access for Retirement and Necessary Saving Program Employees can opt out or change their rate at any time, but the administrative work of running the deductions, answering questions, and remitting contributions sits with you. If a qualifying plan is already in place, certifying the exemption is the simpler path by a wide margin.