Business/Technology Reporter
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Three years into Colorado’s state-administered program providing a retirement plan to any worker without access to one, the list of noncompliant employers still numbers in the thousands.
But the total has shrunk big time.
Since September, Colorado’s SecureSavings program has removed 33,000 records of employers who ignored emails and compliance letters for three years. Many of the companies no longer exist. That was discovered after a data-sharing agreement with the state labor department provided a current list of employers from the state’s mandated paid-family leave program.
Nearly 8,000 employers had outdated contacts, like an old P.O. Box number. Those have already been notified that they must enroll if they employ five or more people and have operated for at least two years. If they have a retirement option, they can file an exemption. More than 2,300 employers have since registered or filed an exemption, according to a December presentation to the SecureSavings board.
“We started this program in a wonky time when business closures were higher just because of the pandemic so there was just a lot more noise in the data,” said Hunter Railey, SecureSavings’ executive director. “We’ve refined (the process) with a better dataset and now we feel comfortable where we can say we feel maybe not 100% certain but 95% certain that these are the employers who should be in compliance with the law.”
The program still has a long way to go. The total employer count now numbers around 75,000. Of those, 23% or 17,565 employers have registered for SecureSavings, though the majority need to take one more step to link their payroll system so employee contributions are automatic, unless the employee opts out.
But now that officials know which employers to target, enforcement is expected to begin later this year. Annual fines of up to $100 per unenrolled employee could kick in, though penalties are capped at $5,000 per calendar year.
The program will be rolling out new technology to help better manage interactions with customers. Companies not in compliance tend to be smaller, with a dozen or so workers and no full-time HR staffer. Or they’re in a confusing tax category.
“I’ve received communication from several religious private schools asking, ‘Hey, does this apply to us?’” Railey said. “The Archdiocese of Denver is a group that we’re having to work pretty closely with.”
More workers join retirement plans
Colorado officials prefer to point out what matters more: There are now 96,594 participants in the state’s plan — or 96,594 more Colorado workers saving for retirement than three years ago. That’s up 38% since the end of last year. Altogether, they’ve saved up $180.2 million for an average of $1,866 per account.
“Before we started this program, no one was saving in this population,” said State Treasurer Dave Young, whose department administers the program.
Workers participating in SecureSavings set aside 1% of their paycheck as an automatic deduction. The rate can also be set to automatically increase annually. Funds are managed professionally so there’s potential for a much higher return than a traditional savings account. The one-year return on Colorado plans ranged from 3.74% to 28.85% as of Nov. 30, according to fund manager Vestwell.
Even so, not all workers stick with the state’s plan. About 1 in 5 opt out, Young said.
“There are people who are on very, very tight budgets and their paychecks are just barely making enough to, or maybe not even enough to meet all of their expenses,” Young said. “But on the other side, I think many people in this population actually discovered they could save because the money comes out and they didn’t notice it.”
Based on earlier estimates of nearly 1 million Colorado workers with no access to a retirement plan at work, SecureSavings has captured just 10%. But the program’s existence has spurred employers to start their own plan, so countless more workers may now be saving up for retirement than three years ago when the state’s program launched.
While about 20% of the state’s 74,000 total eligible employers are exempt because they don’t meet the minimum employee threshold, at least one-third filed for an exemption because they already have a plan or decided to create one. (Smaller businesses and self-employed folks can voluntarily participate in SecureSavings.)
Some employers who went the private route did so because SecureSavings didn’t provide the benefits of a traditional retirement account. It’s a Roth IRA, so employee contributions are made after taxes. The tax benefit comes at withdrawal. Employers can’t match employee contributions.
Earlier this year, the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC introduced its own retirement program for chamber members. Called a Multiple Employer Aggregation Program, it’s a 401(k) that allows employers to pool resources, save on fees and get expert advice from financial professionals, said Craig Carle, the chamber’s vice president of membership.
“What is especially promising is that many companies who have filed exemptions from the state program are not stepping away from offering benefits,” Carle said in an email. “They are actively seeking out alternative solutions and implementing their own retirement plans, which ultimately creates more choice, stronger participation, and better long-term outcomes for Colorado workers, as well as lower cost/fees for them.”
According to a report from the AARP Public Policy Institute, 40.2% of Colorado workers weren’t covered by a workplace retirement plan in 2022. Those without access tended to be younger, less educated and the lowest earners. State-facilitated plans like SecureSavings are helping close that gap, AARP says.
“Saving at work appears to be critical: Few households eligible to contribute to an Individual Retirement Account outside of their job regularly do so,” the report said.
As long as more Coloradans are getting access to retirement plans, SecureSavings officials are fine with that.
“More importantly,” Railey said, “data indicate that the overwhelming majority of employers have made at least some effort to comply with the law. This shows that a significant policy and cultural shift is underway for Colorado.”
Colorado’s minimum wages for 2026
Minimum wage goes up again for the lowest earners in Colorado to $15.15 an hour.
Hourly pay is higher in the cities of Denver, Boulder and Edgewater and in Boulder County. For the most part, this is the annual cost-of-living increase that local voters approved. The increases are shown in this chart:
But not all minimums are going up as planned. The Boulder County commissioners, who began raising the county’s minimum wage in 2024 with a goal of reaching $25 by 2030, decided in November to slow down the increase for 2026 to be on par with the city of Boulder, which began raising its local minimum last year.
Minimum wage in the county will increase just 25 cents an hour instead of the planned $1.42 an hour. That puts minimum wage at $16.82 in the city and county. Tipped wages for both will be $13.80, which is a $1.25 increase for city workers but a 25-cent increase for county workers.
The biggest change this year is that tipped workers in Edgewater won’t see any change in base pay.
As reported last month, Edgewater became the first local government to change Colorado’s $3.02 tip credit, or the amount employers can reduce the base wage if a tipped worker makes at least that much in tips. In this case, Edgewater increased its tip credit to $4.67, leaving tipped workers at the same wage paid this year, or $13.50.
All other minimum wage earners in the city got a $1.65 hourly increase to $18.17 on Jan. 1. That’s the biggest increase in the state.
That change, however, isn’t permanent. Edgewater’s city council plans to revisit the tip credit this year. If they take no action, the city’s tip credit returns to $3.02.
“I am confident City Council will spend some time early in 2026 to set this plan,” Edgewater City Manager Dan Maples said in an email.
➔ For those curious about what the rules are for wages in the state, here’s the state’s notice about local minimum wages. >> Local minimum rules
What else is new with state labor laws
Cost of paid-family leave premiums fall a wee bit in 2026. The state’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance, or FAMLI, fund is apparently healthy, which led the state to lower monthly premiums to 0.88% of wages, from 0.9%, starting in January.
For many workers, that fee is split equally between worker and employer, though in some cases, employers opt to cover it all. While there’s no state income tax on FAMLI benefits, starting in 2026, employers with 10 or more employees will have to cover a portion of the federal taxes on FAMLI benefits.
Paid leave expands to neonatal care. FAMLI can also be tapped to partially cover wages if a newborn ends up in intensive care. Paid neonatal care is available for up to 12 weeks so a parent can take paid leave during the baby’s hospital stay. Families are still eligible for an additional 12 weeks of pay to bond with their newborn. >> Details
More workers took advantage of FAMLI in 2025. According to the FAMLI dashboard, the number of applicants and payments both grew in 2025. Nearly $830 million has been paid to workers taking family leave last year, with an average weekly payment of $902. In 2024, $687.7 million was paid, averaging $915 per week.
But not all employers have registered for the program. The state labor department estimates 25,000 employers may be out of compliance, though no fines have been issued for failing to register, a spokesperson said. Most cases are resolved after direct contact.
Labor rule junkie? Get the labor department’s quarterly newsletter. The labor department has also created a new quarterly newsletter highlighting new laws and updates of existing laws in the CDLE’s Compliance Quarterly. >> Subscribe
Sun economy stories you may have missed
➔ Here comes another Xcel Energy rate hike. This time, the utility is asking to raise your gas bill. The Colorado consumer advocate says second rate-increase request in a quarter is testing the will of customers and the Public Utilities Commission >> Read story
➔ Conservationists propose ballot measure to delegate sporting goods tax revenue to hinder wildfires in Colorado. De-Brucing sales taxes collected from outdoor sports gear could funnel $130 million toward open space, watersheds, wildfire mitigation and recreational access, backers say >> Read story
➔ Colorado gets $200 million from the feds in rural health care “Hunger Games.” The money comes from a fund created as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. It will help Colorado improve rural health care across the state. >> Read story
➔ Colorado is feeling the effects of AI as legislative deadlock over regulation continues. Lawmakers return to the state Capitol in January to try for a fourth time to reach a deal on how to place guardrails around artificial intelligence >> Read story
➔ Cuchara ski area nears state approval for return of lift-served skiing after 25 years. The southern Colorado ski area last hosted lift-riding skiers in 2000. >> Read story
➔ Time is up for operators of a beloved Grand Junction farm market. The owners of Okagawa Farms say they’re ready to move on after 34 years and have put out a “for sale” sign on their operation fronting the Colorado River >> Read story
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Thanks for sticking with me as What’s Working wrapped up another year and started a new one. Happy 2026! As always, share your 2 cents on how the economy is keeping you down or helping you up at cosun.co/heyww. ~ tamara
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