What is MarylandSaves and which employers must comply?
Last reviewed: July 2026
MarylandSaves is the state's mandatory retirement savings program, and most Maryland employers without their own plan are required to take part. If your business has operated for at least two years, has a W-2 employee over 18, and runs automated payroll, the state expects you to either register for MarylandSaves or offer a qualifying retirement plan of your own. Do one of the two and Maryland waives your $300 annual business filing fee. Around Harford County, plenty of small employers only learn about the MarylandSaves mandate when that fee notice lands.
Key Takeaways
- MarylandSaves is a state-sponsored Roth IRA program that Maryland employers without a retirement plan are required to offer their workers.
- You must register if your business has run for at least 2 years, has an employee over 18, and uses automated payroll.
- Registering or offering your own plan earns a $300 annual filing-fee waiver from the state.
- Employees are auto-enrolled into a Roth IRA, capped at the 2026 limit of $7,500, and can opt out within 30 days.
- Setting up your own 401(k), SEP, or SIMPLE IRA satisfies the mandate and often serves owners better than the state default.
About the Author: Jeff Judge, CFP®, AEP®, ChFC®, CLU® is Managing Partner of Chesapeake Financial Planners in Forest Hill, Maryland. He has helped families and business owners across Harford County and the Baltimore metro area set up retirement plans since earning his CFP® certification in 2013, using Chesapeake's signature process, the R.U.D.D.E.R. Method™. "Most owners treat MarylandSaves as a box to check," Jeff says. "For a lot of them, their own plan would shelter far more income and cost about the same effort to run."
What is MarylandSaves, and who must comply?
MarylandSaves is a state-facilitated retirement program that auto-enrolls private-sector workers into a Roth IRA when their employer does not offer a plan. Maryland law requires you to register if your business has been in operation for at least 2 calendar years, has at least one employee over the age of 18, and uses an automated payroll system. If you already sponsor a qualified plan, you are exempt, and so are businesses with no employees or that run payroll by hand.
The state pairs the requirement with a carrot. According to MarylandSaves, "the $300 annual report filing fee for entities doing business in Maryland is waived for registered employers." That waiver, tied to a specific section of Maryland's Corporations and Associations code, is the main reason most owners finally act. The MarylandSaves auto-IRA is not a tax on your business; it is a low-effort way to give workers a savings option you are not otherwise providing. The program has an unusual twist: an employee's first contributions build a small emergency savings fund before the rest flows into long-term retirement savings, a nod to the reality that many workers need cash on hand before they can think about retirement.
How do Maryland employers register for MarylandSaves?
Registering for MarylandSaves is a three-step process, and the state designed it to take very little of your time. You will need your federal Employer Identification Number and the access code from your state notification to begin.
- Register: set up your login, answer a few questions about your company and payroll, complete payment setup, and add your employees.
- Send contributions: your employees get 30 days to opt out or customize their account, then you record their choices, start payroll deductions, and submit the contributions.
- Maintain: keep sending contributions each pay period, add new hires, and mark departing employees as terminated.
You are not responsible for enrolling employees in their Roth IRA, answering investment questions, or processing distributions. The program handles all of that. For a business owner weighing the Maryland retirement savings program against the work of a real plan, the light maintenance is a genuine selling point.
What are the deadlines and the $300 fee waiver for MarylandSaves?
The deadline that matters is December 31. Register and start sending contributions, or claim your exemption, by year end and Maryland waives the $300 annual filing fee on your next State Department of Assessments and Taxation annual report. Miss it and you simply pay the fee and remain out of step with the Maryland auto IRA requirement. The program launched in 2022, and the state notifies eligible businesses directly with an access code, so many Harford County owners are already on the list even if they have not acted yet.
Does MarylandSaves cost my business anything? No. There are no employer contributions, no matching requirement, and no program fees charged to you. Your only cost is the light administrative work of running payroll deductions and keeping employee records current. Maryland built the program so that the employer carries no financial burden and no fiduciary responsibility for the investments.
Can Harford County business owners offer their own plan instead?
Yes. Offering your own qualified retirement plan satisfies the MarylandSaves mandate and still lets you claim the $300 fee waiver. For many Harford County business owners, that is the better path, because a plan you sponsor can shelter far more of your own income than an employee Roth IRA capped at $7,500.
Can I skip MarylandSaves by offering my own retirement plan? Yes, and it is often the smarter move for the owner. A small-business 401(k) or a Solo 401(k) or SEP IRA lets you contribute well beyond the IRA limit, and a real plan can include an employer match or profit sharing that MarylandSaves cannot. You still claim the state filing-fee waiver, so you lose nothing on that front while gaining a far larger tax-advantaged bucket.
Is MarylandSaves the right fit for your Maryland small business?
MarylandSaves is a reasonable default, but it is rarely the best a Maryland small business can do. The program exists to cover workers at companies that offer nothing, so its ceiling is low by design. For an owner trying to build real retirement savings, the question is not whether to comply but how to comply in a way that also benefits you.
This is where a defined process helps. The R.U.D.D.E.R. Method™ is Chesapeake Financial Planners' six-step planning process: Review and Recognize, Uncover and Understand, Design and Develop, Discuss and Decide, Execute and Empower, and Reassess and Refine. Applied to this decision, it starts by reviewing your payroll and goals before defaulting to the state option. We work with owners across Forest Hill, Bel Air, and the rest of Harford County who assumed MarylandSaves was their only choice and found a plan that did more for the same effort. That local, in-person work with Harford County business owners is the core of our practice.
Jeff Judge has watched this play out for years. "The owners who slow down for one conversation almost always end up with a better plan than the default," he says. Maryland business owners also have a separate pass-through entity tax move worth coordinating with the retirement decision, so it pays to look at both together rather than one at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do small businesses in Harford County have to use MarylandSaves?
Harford County businesses must participate in MarylandSaves only if they have operated at least two years, employ someone over 18, use automated payroll, and do not already offer a retirement plan. If you sponsor your own qualified plan, you are exempt and can claim the state filing-fee waiver instead.
What happens if I ignore the MarylandSaves mandate?
Maryland does not levy a per-employee fine for skipping MarylandSaves, unlike some other states. The practical consequence is that you forfeit the $300 annual filing-fee waiver and remain out of compliance with state law, which can complicate your annual report and create avoidable risk for your business.
Is MarylandSaves a Roth IRA or a 401(k)?
MarylandSaves enrolls employees into a Roth IRA, not a 401(k). Contributions come out of employee paychecks after tax and are subject to the annual Roth IRA limit, which is $7,500 for 2026. Employers make no contributions and have no say in the investments, which the program manages.
How much does MarylandSaves cost the employer?
MarylandSaves costs the employer nothing in fees or contributions. You handle light administration, such as running payroll deductions and keeping employee records current, but the state charges you no program fee and you carry no fiduciary responsibility for the Roth IRA investments your employees choose.
Where can Forest Hill or Bel Air employers get help choosing a plan?
Forest Hill and Bel Air employers can work with a local advisor to compare MarylandSaves against a sponsored plan before the December 31 deadline. Chesapeake Financial Planners, based in Forest Hill, helps Harford County owners weigh the state option against a 401(k), SEP, or SIMPLE IRA that may shelter more income.
Ready to choose the right plan for your Maryland business?
MarylandSaves makes compliance easy, but easy and best are not always the same thing. Jeff Judge and the Chesapeake Financial Planners team help business owners across Harford County, Forest Hill, Bel Air, and the Baltimore metro decide between the state program and a plan that does more for the owner. Schedule a no-cost fit call at chesapeakefp.com and we will map out your options before the next deadline.
Disclosures
The information provided is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. Investment strategies should be tailored to individual circumstances, risk tolerance, and goals. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results. Consult with qualified financial professionals regarding your specific situation.
Contributions to a traditional IRA may be tax deductible in the contribution year, with current income tax due at withdrawal. Withdrawals prior to age 59 ½ may result in a 10% IRS penalty tax in addition to current income tax.
A Roth IRA offers tax deferral on any earnings in the account. Qualified withdrawals of earnings from the account are tax-free. Withdrawals of earnings prior to age 59 ½ or prior to the account being opened for 5 years, whichever is later, may result in a 10% IRS penalty tax. Limitations and restrictions may apply.
This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax, investment or legal advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific situation with a qualified tax, legal or financial advisor.
Advisors associated with Chesapeake Financial Planners may be either (1) LPL Financial Registered Representatives offering securities through LPL Financial, Member FINRA and SIPC, and investment advisor representatives offering investment advice through Great Valley Advisor Group; or (2) solely investment advisor representatives offering investment advice through Great Valley Advisor Group and not affiliated with LPL Financial. Great Valley Advisor Group, and Chesapeake Financial Planners are separate entities from LPL Financial.
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