Minnesota Secure Choice Retirement Program Savers Overview

The Minnesota Secure Choice Retirement Program is a state-facilitated retirement program for private employers established passed into law in 2023. It is a way for private employees who do not have access to employer-sponsored retirement plans to save for retirement.  

When an employer registers for the program, employees are automatically enrolled into individual retirement accounts (IRAs) that are portable and can be taken from job to job. Employees build retirement savings through automated after-tax payroll contributions from each paycheck. Participation is voluntary and contributions are flexible to allow employees to start where they are.

Employers will be required to deduct contributions from their employees’ paychecks and remit those to the Program. Employers will be responsible for any administrative or operational cost associated with their payroll reporting. The Program offers over 200 integrations with various payroll software and payroll firms. The Minnesota Secure Choice Retirement Program does not assess any fees from employers.

Employee contributions default to 5% upon enrollment with annual automatic escalation of 1% until contributions reach 8%. Workers can adjust their contribution rates at any time or opt out of the program. Employers cannot opt out of the program on behalf of employees.

Employer contributions toward Program accounts are not permitted; the only contributions to the program will be wages withheld from employees’ paychecks. 

The employee’s payroll deduction contributions will be deposited into a default Roth IRA account. The program also offers the ability for the employee to recharacterize into a Traditional IRA which can be done by calling the Saver Assistance line at 1-855-934-4369 . The employer is not responsible for withholding on a pre-tax basis in these situations, the employee will report these contributions on their tax filings each year.