Employers

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Savers

A New Choice
for Retirement Savings

What is Illinois Secure Choice?

Illinois Secure Choice is a simple and convenient retirement savings program for employers who do not already offer a plan. With Illinois Secure Choice, you can help your employees save for their future. We know you value what they do for your business, and there is no greater form of appreciation than helping them save for a secure retirement. With Illinois Secure Choice, your hard-working employees can save for retirement through payroll deductions into a Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA). They always remain in control of their account and retain it if they change jobs.

Quick Facts for Employers
  • Registering your business is easy
  • There are no fees for employers to facilitate the program
  • Employers cannot make contributions
  • Employers serve a limited role as a facilitator
Important Employee Information
  • Their Illinois Secure Choice account is a Roth IRA
  • The default savings rate is 5% of gross pay
  • Employees will be auto-enrolled after 30 days and will begin saving through payroll contributions
  • They can opt out at any time

Getting Started

Register My Business

If you meet our eligibility criteria, you’ll be notified by the state of Illinois when it's time for your company to register.

Setup My Account

Once you’re registered, there will be a few things to set up within your account.

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  • Add delegates and payroll representatives
    We know that sometimes a little extra help goes a long way, so you can select delegates within your company to help you manage these tasks. If you use an external payroll provider, you can also add them as payroll representatives–all we need is their information and a brief explanation of what they will do on your account.
  • Create a payroll list
    Before you can add employees, you’ll need to set up payroll lists in a way that best makes sense for your business.
  • Add employees
    Once your payroll list(s) is set up in your employer portal, you’ll add all of your employees. You’ll need their contact information: address, phone number, email address, legal name, social security number (SSN) or individual tax identification Number (ITIN) and Date of birth.
  • Process payroll contributions
    After the employee’s 30 day opt out period, you’ll start sending contributions and acknowledge contribution changes whenever employees request them.
Learn More Register Business

or walk through the steps with our registration checklist

Registration Timeline

May 2018

Pilot Phase

November 2018

Wave 1

Employers with 500+ employees
July 2019

Wave 2

Employers with 100-499 employees
November 2019

Wave 3

Employers with 25-99 employees

Meet your team of experts

As an employer offering Illinois Secure Choice to your employees, you want to make sure they fully understand this new savings program. Our field team is here to help. These experts are local resources available to help you with anything from the initial Illinois Secure Choice roll out period, to hosting savings seminars or participating in benefits fairs.

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Shaun Pesce

Institutional Relationship Manager

Shaun.Pesce@ascensus.com

Shaun has worked in financial services for 15 years. Over the last 10 years, his focus has been to educated business owners and their employees about the value of saving for retirement and he has implemented plans for them to save.

He has specific expertise in financial strategy, retirement readiness, and the execution of retirement plans.

Shaun graduated from Johnson & Wales University in Providence RI with a B.S in Business Management. Shaun holds FINRA series 6 & 63 licenses along with Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist’ (CRPS®) designation from the College for Financial Planning. He currently resides in Chicago.

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Joseph Ossey

Institutional Relationship Manager

Joseph.Ossey@ascensus.com

Joe has over a decade of financial services experience and is particularly effective at educating retirement plan sponsors and participants about the importance of saving for retirement.

He has served as a Relationship Manager with the Principal Financial Group, as well as a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) with two independent firms.

Joe has a B.S in Business Management from the Northern Illinois University (NIU) Barsema College of Business, and holds his FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses, as well as the Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist’ (CRPS®) designation from the College for Financial Planning. He resides in Downers Grove

Mr. Pesce and Mr. Ossey are registered representatives of Ascensus Broker Dealer Services LLC, 877-529-2980, 95 Wells Ave, Newton MA (member FINRA/SIPC) and are not employed by the State of Illinois.