Media & Press Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MANALAPAN, NJ — April 4, 2026

Most affected small business owners don’t know they’re already out of compliance.

Seventeen states — including California, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Connecticut, Maryland, Oregon, Colorado, and Delaware — have passed mandatory retirement savings laws requiring employers to offer employees a retirement savings option. Businesses that don’t comply face fines in most of the states already enforcing — several with penalties that escalate year over year. And the vast majority of affected business owners have never heard of these programs.

The fines are real. Many deadlines have passed. And most business owners are unprepared.

California’s CalSavers program covers any employer with 1 or more employees. New Jersey’s RetireReady NJ program now applies to businesses with 10 or more employees — the threshold dropped from 25 under a law signed in January 2026, with enrollment for newly covered employers being phased in. New York’s Secure Choice program, launched in late 2025, covers employers with 10 or more employees. Delaware’s EARNS program is coming online. Connecticut’s MyCTSavings program is already in active enforcement.

The penalties are not hypothetical — but they vary widely by state. California fines start at $250 per employee 90 days after an official notice, with an additional $500 per employee at 180 days that continues each subsequent year. Illinois assesses $250 per employee for the first non-compliant year and $500 per employee each year after. Oregon and Colorado impose fines of $100 per employee per year, capped at $5,000. Virginia can assess up to $200 per eligible employee per year. Connecticut takes a different approach, fining companies — not individual employees — $500 to $1,500 per year depending on company size. Maryland, notably, imposes no monetary penalty at all; it instead waives a $300 annual state filing fee for compliant employers. In New Jersey, penalties escalate from a written warning to $100, then $250, and ultimately $500 per employee per year — meaning a 50-person business that ignores the RetireReady NJ mandate long enough could eventually face up to $25,000 in annual fines.

“The question I ask every business owner I meet is simple: do you know which state retirement mandate applies to your business? Most of them don’t. And by the time they find out, the fine letter is already on the way.”
— Alex Kandelaki, CLU, ChFC, CEO & Founder, Kandelaki Solutions LLC

There is a way out — and it’s simpler than most business owners think.

Employers who already offer a qualified retirement plan — such as a 401(k), SIMPLE IRA, or SEP-IRA — are typically exempt from state mandate enrollment requirements. But exempt status is not automatic. In New Jersey and most other mandate states, employers must actively certify their exemption with the state program to avoid penalties — even if they already have a plan in place.

For employers who don’t yet offer a plan, setting up a qualified private retirement program may provide more flexible options than the default state program — and may deliver meaningful tax advantages, with tax-deferred contribution limits that can reach $70,000 or more per year (based on current IRS limits; consult a qualified tax advisor).

“We’re not here to sell anything on the first conversation. We’re here because most business owners deserve 15 minutes of clarity before a fine they didn’t see coming costs them thousands of dollars.”
— Alex Kandelaki

For informational and educational purposes only. Not financial, tax, or legal advice. State mandate requirements vary and are subject to change. Penalty amounts are based on publicly available state program guidelines as of the date of publication and may vary — confirm current requirements with each state’s official program site. Consult a qualified financial, legal, or tax advisor before making any compliance or retirement plan decisions.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MANALAPAN, NJ — April 4, 2026

Escalating penalties of up to $500 per employee make immediate compliance critical

CalSavers penalties continue to escalate in 2026: California’s Franchise Tax Board is authorized to assess penalties against non-compliant employers, and the escalated penalty tier — an additional $500 per employee, assessed 180 days after notice and continuing each subsequent year — can now apply to businesses that were first cited in prior years. Kandelaki Solutions LLC, a retirement mandate compliance consulting firm, is urging all California employers to verify their compliance status immediately.

California’s CalSavers Retirement Savings Program applies to private-sector employers with even a single W-2 employee who do not already offer a qualifying workplace retirement plan. With a threshold of just one employee, CalSavers has one of the broadest reaches of any state mandate program in the country.

“One employee is a very low bar. This program covers corner stores, professional offices, food trucks with a few employees, home service businesses — the breadth is enormous. And the penalty escalation is not theoretical.”
— Alex Kandelaki, Founder, Kandelaki Solutions LLC

California employers who already sponsor a qualifying retirement plan — including a 401(k), SIMPLE IRA, SEP-IRA, defined benefit plan, or 403(b) — are exempt from CalSavers. However, the exemption must be registered through the CalSavers program portal. CalSavers cross-references employment data from the Employment Development Department to identify covered employers.

For informational and educational purposes only. Not financial, tax, or legal advice. State mandate requirements vary and are subject to change. Penalty amounts are based on publicly available state program guidelines as of the date of publication and may vary — confirm current requirements with each state’s official program site. Consult a qualified financial, legal, or tax advisor before making any compliance or retirement plan decisions.