Broker Check

Illinois Secure Choice Review

What is Illinois Secure Choice?


Illinois Secure Choice is a retirement savings program in Illinois for companies that do not currently offer any other retirement plan for their employees.  This plan sets up a fund for each employee that receives after tax contributions from payroll.  Illinois Secure Choice makes it easier for Illinois workers to save for retirement, but a different retirement plan may make more sense for a company.  

How Does Illinois Secure Choice Work?


Employers register their company at the Illinois Secure Choice website.  When the company is approved for the program, employees have 30 days to pick their deferral percentage and investment preferences or they are enrolled with a  5% deferral put into an appropriate age based fund.

Which Employers Have to Offer Illinois Secure Choice?


All companies with at least 25 employees that have been in business for two years must offer Illinois Secure Choice if they do not offer a different retirement plan, such as a 401(k) plan.  Companies with 100 or more employees must have a plan in place by July 1st, 2019.  Companies with 25 - 99 employees must have a plan in place by November 1st, 2019. 

What's the difference between Illinois Secure Choice and other Retirement Plans such as a 401(k) Plan?

What's the difference between Illinois Secure Choice and other Retirement Plans such as a 401(k) Plan?

While the Illinois Secure Choice Act helps all Illinois employees save for retirement, companies do not have to use the default Illinois Secure Choice plan.  They can setup a 401(k), SEP IRA or Simple IRA for example. It is important to compare it with other plans that may better benefit your company. 

Illinois Secure Choice does not offer any tax benefits to businesses while other plans do. For 2019, Illinois Secure Choice allows a maximum contribution of $6,000 per employee while other plans offer much higher contributions. Illinois Secure Choice does not allow employer contributions while others do. To the left is a subset of our full Retirement Plan Comparison Chart.  Please enter your email below and we will send you our full comparison or please call us at 630-873-3577 to discuss what plan is right for your business.

Get our detailed sheet comparing IL Secure Choice to a 401(k), SEP IRA and Simple IRA:

Thank you! Oops!

Who We Are

Chicago Wealth Management Group is a financial services firm for individuals, families, companies and non-profits. We are a team of financial advisors that are part of the 8,500+ advisors at Cetera Financial Group and our broker dealer, Cetera Advisor Networks.  Attached is our 401(k) brochure. 

Download Our 401(k) Brochure

Schedule a Call or Meeting:

Schedule a phone call or a complimentary, no obligation, initial meeting at your office or one of ours in Chicago, Villa Park, or Schaumburg to discuss your company's retirement plan options such the Illinois Secure Choice Plan, a 401(k), SEP IRA or Simple IRA. Click the button below to see our online schedule and to schedule a time to talk.

Click Here

Have a Question?

Thank you! Oops!

The Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program (“IL Secure Choice”) is an automatic enrollment payroll deduction Roth IRA overseen by the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Board (“Board”). Ascensus College Savings Recordkeeping Services, LLC (“ACSR”) is the program administrator. ACSR and its affiliates are responsible for day-to-day program operations. Participants saving through IL Secure Choice beneficially own and have control over their Roth IRAs, as provided in the program offering set out at saver.ilsecurechoice.com.

IL Secure Choice offers investment options selected by the Board. For more information on IL Secure Choice’s investment options go to saver.ilsecurechoice.com. Account balances in IL Secure Choice will vary with market conditions. Investments in Secure Choice are not guaranteed or insured by the Board, the State of Illinois, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other organization.

IL Secure Choice is a completely voluntary retirement program. Saving through a Roth IRA will not be appropriate for all individuals. Employer facilitation of IL Secure Choice should not be considered an endorsement or recommendation by your employer of IL Secure Choice, Roth IRAs, or the investment options offered through IL Secure Choice. Roth IRAs are not exclusive to IL Secure Choice and can be obtained outside of the program and contributed to outside of payroll deduction. Contributing to an IL Secure Choice Roth IRA through payroll deduction offers some tax benefits and consequences. You should consult your tax or financial advisor if you have questions related to taxes or investments.