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The Mandate Monitor

New York Secure Choice: next employer deadline November 18, 2026

In effectChecked November 8, 2026Run by New York Secure Choice Savings Program Board (chaired by the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance)

Short answer

New York requires employers that had at least 10 New York employees at all times during the prior year, have been in business at least two years and don’t offer a qualified retirement plan to register with New York Secure Choice, the state’s auto-enroll Roth individual retirement account (IRA) program, and run payroll deductions for employees who don’t opt out. The program opened to all eligible employers in October 2025, and the three size-based registration deadlines (March 18, May 15 and July 15, 2026) have all passed. Newly eligible employers have a November 18, 2026 registration deadline. State law sets no fine amounts, and the program’s board has not published penalties.

Next date: November 18, 2026: Registration deadline for newly eligible employers required to facilitate the program (10+ employees).

Does your payroll handle New York Secure Choice? See the free state route and the 5 payroll systems with help docs that cover it.

New York Secure Choice deadlines

  1. · Retirement mandate

    Registration deadline for newly eligible employers required to facilitate the program

    10+ employees

Dates already passed (4)
  • : Registration deadline for employers with 10 to 14 employees, the last size-based wave.
  • : Registration deadline for employers with 15 to 29 employees.
  • : Registration deadline for employers with 30 or more employees.
  • : New York Secure Choice opened to all eligible employers after a pilot with a limited group of employers.

What employers have to do

  1. Register using the notice the program sends (it asks for your business name, federal Employer Identification Number (EIN), mailing address and a contact person), or certify an exemption.
  2. Give the program administrator each employee’s legal name, Social Security number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), date of birth, address, and email or mobile number. The program then sends employees its information materials.
  3. Employees have 30 days to opt out. Don’t start payroll deductions until 30 days after an employee is enrolled.
  4. Withhold contributions each pay period and send them to the program as soon as practicable, no later than the last day of the month after the month the pay would have been paid.
  5. Add new hires as of their hire date, and no later than 30 days after they start.
  6. Don’t encourage, discourage or advise employees about participating, and don’t contribute to their accounts.

Handling New York Secure Choice in payroll

The free route: register directly with the state

You can register and report on your own through New York Secure Choice Savings Program Board (chaired by the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance). You’ll still need your payroll to send the employee contributions each pay period.

Payroll systems with a help document covering New York Secure Choice

SystemWhat the documentation saysLink
ADP RUNThe New York Secure Choice 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, 2026See plans for ADP RUN
GustoGusto’s auto-IRA help article lists New York Secure Choice 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, 2026See plans for Gusto
Paychex FlexThe New York Secure Choice 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, 2026See plans for Paychex Flex
QuickBooks PayrollThe New York Secure Choice 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 7, 2026See plans for QuickBooks Payroll
Square PayrollThe New York Secure Choice 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, 2026See plans for Square Payroll

Listed alphabetically. We may earn a commission from these links; it never decides who’s listed.

How New York Secure Choice works

Default 3% of wages into a Roth individual retirement account (IRA), deducted after tax. Contributions start in a capital preservation investment for 30 days, then move to the board’s default investment, a target date fund. Savers can choose any whole-number percentage, pause, or opt out at any time. Automatic yearly increases are optional in New York: a saver can opt in to raises of at least 1% each January, up to a cap the saver picks, no higher than 10%.

Free for employers. Employers can’t contribute to employee accounts, aren’t fiduciaries of the program, and aren’t liable for employees’ decisions to join or opt out or for investment results (General Business Law § 1313).

Questions employers ask

Who has to follow New York Secure Choice?

Employers, for-profit or nonprofit, that employed at least 10 employees in New York State at all times during the previous calendar year, have been in business at least two years, and have not offered a qualified retirement plan, such as a 401(k), 403(b), Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan or Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) plan, in the preceding two years. The program counts employees from the wage data employers report to the state, including Form NYS-45. Workers placed through a professional employer organization (PEO) count as the client employer’s, and a plan the PEO offers counts as the client’s plan. Eligible employees are 18 or older and earn wages working in New York State. The program notifies covered employers when it’s time to register.

How do employers get an exemption from New York Secure Choice?

An employer notified to register that believes it isn’t covered (for example, because it offers a qualified plan) certifies its exempt status with the program administrator; the certification stays in effect as long as the employer still meets the exemption criteria. A participating employer that later starts a qualified plan certifies an exemption, then must tell enrolled employees at least 60 days before payroll deductions stop. State law bars an employer from ending an existing qualified plan in order to join the program (General Business Law § 1310).

What happens if an employer doesn’t comply?

None set yet. General Business Law Article 43 names no fine amounts; it gives the New York Secure Choice Savings Program Board the job to determine employee rights and enforcement of penalties (§ 1304). The board’s posted Policies and Procedures, read November 7, 2026, contain no penalty schedule.

Everything employers in New York must do ·Retirement mandates in every state

Sources

  1. N.Y. General Business Law Article 43, §§ 1300–1316
  2. Employer program details (newly eligible employer registration deadline), New York Secure Choice (read Nov 8, 2026)
  3. NYC Restaurant Resource Guide: NYS Secure Choice Savings Program registration deadlines by employer size, NYC Department of Small Business Services (NYC Business) (read Nov 7, 2026)
  4. Board meeting program updates, June 12, 2026 (implementation timeline: launch October 2025; deadlines March, May and July 2026 for 30+, 15 to 29 and 10 to 14 employees), New York Secure Choice Savings Program Board (read Nov 7, 2026)
  5. Program administrator presentation to the board, June 12, 2026 (preparing an annual wave in the fall), New York Secure Choice Savings Program Board (read Nov 7, 2026)
  6. Program Policies and Procedures (eligibility, employee count, exemption, employer duties, contributions), New York Secure Choice Savings Program Board (read Nov 7, 2026)
  7. About New York Secure Choice (who must facilitate the program), New York Secure Choice Savings Program Board (read Nov 7, 2026)
  8. New York Secure Choice Savings Program Board home (registration open for eligible employers), New York Secure Choice Savings Program Board (read Nov 7, 2026)
  9. General Business Law Article 43, §§ 1300–1316 (text posted by the board), New York Secure Choice Savings Program Board (read Nov 7, 2026)
  10. Governor Hochul announces launch of New York State Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program (October 8, 2025), Office of the Governor of New York (read Nov 7, 2026)
  11. New York State Secure Choice Savings Program overview (3% standard rate, money market fund for 30 days), State of New York (read Nov 7, 2026)