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My Illinois Savings

My Illinois Savings, formerly known as Illinois Secure Choice, is a state-facilitated program that helps small businesses offer their workers access to a workplace retirement savings option. More than 2 million private-sector workers in Illinois lack access to a retirement savings option at work. Below is an overview of what small businesses need to know about the program.

What is My Illinois Savings?
  • My Illinois Savings is a retirement savings program sponsored by the State of Illinois that helps private-sector workers save a portion of their paycheck into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).
  • Certain businesses operating in Illinois are required to facilitate employee enrollment into My Illinois Savings if employees are not already offered a qualified retirement plan by the business. 
  • The program uses automatic enrollment though employees may opt out at any time.
  • There are standard account settings that an enrolled employee can utilize or they can choose to customize their settings. The standard settings include contributions of 5% of gross pay per pay period and investment into a target date retirement fund that most closely aligns to the year in which the employee will turn age 65. Enrolled employees can adjust their contribution rate or investment option(s) at any point. 
  • Employee IRAs are entirely self-funded through the payroll deduction process undertaken by their employer and/or through self-funding that the employee sets up. No employer matching is allowed. 
What responsibilities does a facilitating employer have?
  • Facilitating employers have a set of administrative responsibilities:
    • Registering for the program online at myilsavings.com
    • Adding employees into the online portal and maintaining their rosters in the portal
    • Remitting employee deductions to the program each pay period for all employees enrolled in the program
  • Facilitating employers will not:
    • Pay fees to the program, as the program does not charge employer fees
    • Contribute to employee accounts
    • Have fiduciary responsibility, as employers are not sponsors of the program
  • Small Business Majority’s scientific polling found the majority of Illinois small business owners supported legislation establishing the My Illinois Savings program.
  • Many small businesses would like to offer retirement plans to their employees—to help attract and retain talent, and boost employee morale—but can’t afford the overhead and administrative costs. My Illinois Savings provides a way for small businesses to offer their employees access to a retirement savings program if they are not ready to sponsor a qualified retirement plan.
What businesses qualify for the program?
  • Per state law, employers operating in Illinois must facilitate employee enrollment in My Illinois Savings if they meet the following criteria:
    • Have been in business for at least 2 years;
    • Had 5 or more employees with Illinois wages in every quarter of the preceding calendar year; and
    • Do not offer or contribute to a qualified retirement plan, such as the following plans qualified under certain Internal Revenue Code sections:
      • 401(a) (including 401(k) plans)
      • 403(a) qualified annuity plan
      • 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity plan
      • 408(k) Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan
      • 408(p) Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees of Small Employers (SIMPLE) IRA plan
      • 457(b) governmental tax-deferred compensation plan
      • Taft-Hartley plan
Program deadline
  • Each year, there are new employers that are covered by the state law governing My Illinois Savings. Employers newly covered by the state law will be notified by the program directly through mail and possibly email based on contact information provided by the Illinois Department of Revenue. 
Where can I find more information?