For Washington Employers

Washington just put a deadline on your retirement plan.

Washington Saves arrives in July 2027. Most established employers in the state will have to offer a retirement option: the state's auto-IRA, or a plan of your own. If you were ever going to set up a real 401(k), this is the moment to do it on your terms.

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The Deadline
July 1, 2027

Washington Saves begins enrolling. Employers operating 2+ years in the state whose workforce logged about 10,400 hours last year are covered, unless they already sponsor a qualified plan like a 401(k).

The Mandate, In Plain English

What Washington Saves means for you

The short version of a long law. Three things worth knowing.

Who's covered

Private employers operating in Washington for two or more years whose employees worked a combined 10,400+ hours last calendar year. That's roughly five full-time people.

Who's exempt

Anyone who already sponsors a workplace plan: a 401(k), SIMPLE IRA, SEP, 403(b), or pension. Set up your own plan before the deadline and the mandate doesn't touch you.

What happens if you wait

Covered employers get pulled into the state program and its defaults, with penalties for noncompliance. Fine as a floor. Rarely the best answer for a business trying to keep good people.

Your Two Paths

The state default, or a plan you design

Washington Saves is a decent safety net. It was never meant to compete with a real 401(k).

Washington Saves

The state auto-IRA default
  • A Roth IRA under the hood, so contributions cap around $7,500 a year
  • No employer match allowed. You can't use it to sweeten an offer
  • State-set defaults and investment menu
  • Minimal setup, minimal control
  • Satisfies the mandate, and that's about it

Your own 401(k)

Designed for your business
  • Employees can put away $24,500 a year (2026 limit), more with catch-up
  • Match and profit-sharing allowed, and they're deductible. A real hiring edge
  • You choose eligibility, vesting, and auto-enrollment design
  • Startup tax credits can cover most or all of the cost for the first three years
  • Satisfies the mandate, and actually helps you keep people

The state program is a floor. If benefits are part of how you hire and keep people, a 401(k) is the tool.

$5,000/yr

Federal startup credits under SECURE 2.0 can cover up to $5,000 a year of plan costs for three years for eligible small employers, plus additional credits for employer contributions. For many Washington businesses under 50 employees, the plan largely pays for itself at first. Credit amounts depend on headcount, compensation, and eligibility. We'll run your actual numbers in the review, and your CPA gets the final word.

Dennis Williams Jr in a Seattle coffee shop, mid-conversation
Why Dennis

Compliance is the floor. Adoption is the point.

Most 401(k)s fail quietly. They get set up, the paperwork clears, and then half the team never enrolls because nobody explained it in a language they use.

Dennis Williams Jr has spent 14 years as a wealth advisor in Seattle, and he runs retirement plans the way he runs everything else: like a financial therapist. Plain-English onboarding for your team, one-on-one time for anyone who wants it, and check-ins that treat "I don't get any of this" as a normal starting point instead of a problem.

My mission is simple: leave every interaction better than when we first met.

Your employees actually understanding their plan is the difference between a benefit and a line item.

Not an employer?

If you've changed jobs and left a 401(k) or two behind, that conversation is welcome too. Bring the statements you've been avoiding.

Start the Conversation
Free · 20 minutes

Before you default into the state plan, take twenty minutes.

Bring your headcount and payroll setup. You'll leave knowing whether the mandate covers you, what a plan would cost after credits, and one clear next step, whatever you decide.

Book a 20-Minute Plan Review

Prefer email? hello@myfinancialtherapist.com