MarylandSaves helps your employees and your business succeed

Under Maryland law, most* Maryland employers must offer their employees some sort of retirement savings. This can be a traditional pension, a 401(k) plan, a 403(b) plan, a SEP plan, a SIMPLE IRA plan, a governmental deferred compensation plan — or a WorkLife Account from MarylandSaves. Unlike the alternatives, MarylandSaves won’t charge you a dime – and your employees will get both emergency and retirement savings. 

Registration is quick, easy, and free. If you register and start payroll contributions by December 31, you can save $300 every year. Companies that register (or already have a retirement plan) don’t have to pay Maryland’s annual report filing fee. Don’t wait.†

Already registered? Check to see if your company qualified for the 2024 waiver here.

How do I get started?

You’ll be notified by MarylandSaves when it’s time for your business to register. To begin, you’ll need:

  • Your Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN)

  • The MarylandSaves Access Code from your notification

Don’t have your Access Code?

If you are unable to find the Access Code for your business, you can look it up online.

Look up Access Code

Already offer a retirement plan?

Employers who provide a qualified retirement plan to their employees should certify their exemption and claim the annual report fee waiver using their provided Access Code.

Certify your exemption

If your business has not received an Access Code, you can still certify your exemption and claim your waiver here.

Certify your exemption without an Access Code

Have questions? We’ve got answers.

A list of qualified retirement plans and other questions about eligibility can be found in our FAQ section. 

Read the FAQs

Your role in three simple steps

We know that running your business is your top priority. That’s why MarylandSaves is easy to set up and requires only light account maintenance. The process takes just three simple steps. We’ll take care of the rest, at no cost to you.

  1. 1 Register
  2. 2 Send contributions
  3. 3 Maintenance

Set up your ID and password, answer questions about your company and payroll process, complete payment setup, and then add your employees.

You can even invite a payroll representative to help you facilitate this process. Your payroll representative can be an admin, a teammate, or even your bookkeeper or payroll administrator.

Once you have added employees, we will communicate directly with them to explain their options during the 30 days they have to opt out or customize their account. At the end of the 30-day period, you will record their choices, begin payroll deductions, and submit contribution information and funding for the employees who choose to stay in the program.

To stay in compliance, continue to send payroll contributions and maintain employee records, including updating contribution rate changes when needed, adding new employees, and marking former employees as terminated.

Onboard your company for MarylandSaves

There are just a few steps you need to take to get started. Take a look at this video to get you acclimated:

MarylandSaves Onboarding
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Resources

Registration

Contributions

Maintenance

Things you won’t have to worry about

As an employer, you’ll have a limited role so you can stay focused on running your business.

You will not be responsible for:

  • Making any employer contributions – they’re not allowed. 

  • Setting up your employees’ retirement savings accounts. This happens automatically.

  • Answering questions about MarylandSaves and its investment options, or helping employees choose investments. We have a call center and website for that. 

  • Managing MarylandSaves investment options and processing employee investment change requests.

  • Processing withdrawals or distributions from employee accounts.

  • Managing employee investment account changes. Your employees will be responsible for maintaining their account information and settings once they’re enrolled.

Footnotes

*This applies to businesses that have been in operation for at least 2 calendar years, have at least one W-2 employee, and use an automated payroll system.

†The $300 annual report filing fee for entities doing business in Maryland is waived for registered employers. Md. Code, Corporations and Associations Art., § 1.203(b)(3)(ii), (13).