New York State is launching a retirement savings plan program for employers in the state with Vestwell’s platform. It’s the latest state partnership for the fintech and employer and individual retirement savings platform provider.
The New York State Secure Choice Savings Program went live today, and is available to all private-sector businesses in the Empire State with 10 or more employees that don’t offer retirement plans. According to Vestwell CEO Aaron Schumm, the New York partnership hit “especially close to home.”
“New York is where Vestwell was founded, where our headquarters are, and where so many of our employees live and work,” Schumm said. “Adding New York to our growing partnerships and completing all three tri-state programs means millions more New Yorkers can start building the secure financial future they deserve.”
According to Vestwell, employees at participating companies are automatically enrolled in a Roth IRA, allowing them to contribute directly from their paychecks. Vestwell will supply the platform, and as program administrator, the company will meet the need for record-keeping, custodial, and administrative services.
Vestwell was founded in 2016 as a savings platform provider, and now works with nearly 1.5 million participants across 350,000 businesses nationwide, saving about $35 billion. According to Vestwell, the company powers 85% of government retirement programs, including payroll-deducted IRAs, 529 Education Savings and ABLE Disability Savings programs.
In 2023, Vestwell launched the country’s first multi-state retirement program, utilizing Colorado’s existing auto-IRA functionality as a framework to establish a similar program in Maine. With New York, Vestwell now administers auto-IRA programs in 11 state partnerships, the first of which was Oregon in 2017.
Several months later, Vestwell was named as the program administrator for New Jersey’s Secure Choice Savings Program, which also offered access to a state-facilitated retirement program through employers. The pilot program launched in 2024, with a phased rollout scheduled later that year. Vestwell also operates a similar program in Connecticut, and the New York announcement means Vestwell administers programs in the entire tri-state area (the other states include Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, Vermont and Virginia).
In December 2023, Vestwell raised $125 million in a Series D funding round, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with funding from Fin Capital, Primary Venture Partners, FinTech Collective, Blue Owl and HarbourVest. This followed $70 million in Series C funding in 2021. Vestwell intended to use the funding to enhance the company’s state savings program initiatives.
In 2023, Vestwell also announced JPMorgan Chase selected Vestwell to power its 401(k) small business workplace savings program. In 2024, Commonwealth Financial Network partnered with Vestwell to launch a pooled employer plan. The program expanded the firms’ previously existing relationship and made a Gateway 401(k) Plan available through the broker/dealer’s advisors (Commonwealth was since purchased by LPL Financial).
