Colorado SecureSavings: what employers must do
In effectChecked November 7, 2026Run by Colorado SecureSavings Program Board, Colorado Department of the Treasury
Short answer
Colorado requires employers with 5 or more employees that have been in business at least 2 years and don’t offer a qualified retirement plan to register for Colorado SecureSavings, a state-run Roth individual retirement account (IRA) program, or certify an exemption. The original size-based deadlines ran in 2023. Newly eligible businesses are now notified each year, and the most recent new-business deadline was May 15, 2026. Fines are up to $100 per eligible employee per year, capped at $5,000.
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Colorado SecureSavings deadlines
No future dates on file. Past dates are listed below.
Dates already passed (8)
- : Registration deadline for new businesses notified for 2026 (businesses notified before January 1, 2026 are already past due). (5+ employees)
- : Registration deadline for newly eligible businesses notified for 2025. (5+ employees)
- : Treasury said state law requires businesses operating two or more years with five or more workers to offer a retirement plan by this date, and warned employers of potential financial penalties in 2025. (5+ employees)
- : Registration deadline for newly eligible businesses notified starting April 2024. (5+ employees)
- : Earliest date the Treasury first said fines would begin, under the enforcement framework it was finalizing with the Department of Labor and Employment. Its April 2024 report moved this to no earlier than March 2024.
- : Registration deadline for employers with 5–14 employees.
- : Registration deadline for employers with 15–49 employees.
- : Registration deadline for employers with 50 or more employees.
What employers have to do
- Use the Access Code from your notice to register at coloradosecuresavings.com, or certify an exemption, by your deadline.
- Add employees by submitting each one’s name, Social Security number, date of birth and mailing address, no later than 30 days after their 180th day of employment.
- After the 30-day opt-out period, record employees’ choices and start payroll deductions. Remit contributions no later than 14 days after they’re withheld.
- Keep the account current every pay period: apply rate changes, add new hires, and mark departures.
- Don’t advise employees on investments or contribution rates, don’t discourage participation, and don’t contribute to their accounts.
Handling Colorado SecureSavings in payroll
The free route: register directly with the state
You can register and report on your own through Colorado SecureSavings Program Board, Colorado Department of the Treasury. You’ll still need your payroll to send the employee contributions each pay period.
Payroll systems with a help document covering Colorado SecureSavings
| System | What the documentation says | Link |
|---|---|---|
| ADP RUN | The Colorado SecureSavings help center lists a 360-degree integration for ADP Run that runs through Payroll Integrations, a third party that charges employers a monthly fee. Read the program’s help doc, Nov 7, 2026 | See plans for ADP RUN |
| Gusto | Gusto’s auto-IRA help article lists Colorado SecureSavings among the state programs that integrate with Gusto through Vestwell, which adds a "Vestwell State IRA" deduction to payroll. Read their help doc, Nov 8, 2026 | See plans for Gusto |
| Paychex Flex | The Colorado SecureSavings help center describes a 360-degree integration with Paychex Flex (Select and Pro) that receives contributions from payroll and sends employees’ savings-rate changes back. Read the program’s help doc, Nov 7, 2026 | See plans for Paychex Flex |
| QuickBooks Payroll | The Colorado SecureSavings help center describes a 360-degree integration with QuickBooks Online Payroll (a QuickBooks Online plus Payroll subscription) that receives contributions from payroll and sends employees’ savings-rate changes back. That help center lists QuickBooks Online Payroll as supported and doesn’t mention Workforce plans. Read the program’s help doc, Nov 8, 2026 | See plans for QuickBooks Payroll |
| Square Payroll | The Colorado SecureSavings help center lists a 360-degree integration with Square Payroll; employers request it by emailing their Square Payroll representative. Read the program’s help doc, Nov 7, 2026 | See plans for Square Payroll |
Listed alphabetically. We may earn a commission from these links; it never decides who’s listed.
How Colorado SecureSavings works
Default 5% of gross pay into a Roth individual retirement account (IRA) (after-tax). Default auto-escalation adds 1 percentage point each January for savers enrolled at least six months, up to 8%. Savers can pick any whole-number rate from 1% to 100% within IRS limits, change or turn off escalation, or opt out at any time.
No fees to employers. Employers can’t contribute or match, and they have no fiduciary responsibility.
Questions employers ask
Who has to follow Colorado SecureSavings?
Colorado employers with 5 or more employees that have been in business at least 2 years and don’t offer a tax-qualified retirement plan. A business with 5+ employees but less than 2 years old doesn’t have to join until it reaches 2 years in business. Employers with 2 to 4 employees are exempt but may join voluntarily. The program sends each covered employer a notice with an Access Code and a registration deadline.
How do employers get an exemption from Colorado SecureSavings?
Employers that offer a tax-qualified plan (such as a 401(k), 403(b), Simplified Employee Pension (SEP), SIMPLE individual retirement account (IRA), or 457(b), including through a compliant multiple employer plan) certify the exemption online, as do employers with fewer than 5 employees or less than 2 years in business. Use the same portal as registration, with your Employer Identification Number (EIN) and Access Code. The program administrator then issues a Certificate of Exemption. The Treasury exempted many employers automatically using federal Form 5500 data.
What happens if an employer doesn’t comply?
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment can fine noncompliant employers $100 per eligible employee per year, capped at $5,000 per calendar year (C.R.S. 24-54.3-107(1)(i); 8 CCR 1508-3, section 1508-3.9). Fines can’t start until 12 months after your registration date (or one year after you were scheduled to enter the program, if later). They also can’t start until three months after your first notice of noncompliance. CDLE sends three notices of noncompliance before a final penalty notice, and the fine is due within 30 days of that final notice.
Everything employers in Colorado must do ·Retirement mandates in every state
Sources
- C.R.S. 24-54.3-101 et seq. (as amended by SB 20-200); rules at 8 CCR 1508-3
- Employer program details: eligibility and current deadline, Colorado SecureSavings (read Nov 8, 2026)
- Employers: no cost, no match, no fiduciary responsibility, exemption, Colorado SecureSavings (read Nov 7, 2026)
- Contribution rates and default annual increase, Colorado SecureSavings (read Nov 7, 2026)
- Retirement Savings (Colorado SecureSavings program page), Colorado Department of the Treasury (read Nov 7, 2026)
- 8 CCR 1508-3, Rules Governing the Colorado Secure Savings Program (official PDF), Colorado Secretary of State, Code of Colorado Regulations (read Nov 8, 2026)
- Colorado SecureSavings Annual Report, April 2023, Colorado Department of the Treasury (read Nov 8, 2026)
- Colorado SecureSavings Annual Report, April 2024, Colorado Department of the Treasury (read Nov 8, 2026)
- Board presentation, Q1 2023 (wave deadlines March 15 and May 15, 2023), Colorado SecureSavings Program Board (read Nov 8, 2026)
- Board meeting minutes, June 2023 (final deadline June 30), Colorado SecureSavings Program Board (read Nov 8, 2026)
- Board presentation, Q3 2024 (2024 annual wave, May 15 deadline), Colorado SecureSavings Program Board (read Nov 8, 2026)
- Empleadores, program’s Spanish employer page (new-business deadline May 15, 2025), Colorado SecureSavings (read Nov 8, 2026)
- Treasury encourages employers to enroll in Colorado SecureSavings (press release, November 25, 2024), Colorado Department of the Treasury (read Nov 8, 2026)
- Newly eligible businesses deadline May 15, 2024 (archived program-details page, Sept 19, 2024), Colorado SecureSavings (read Nov 7, 2026)