Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law, Washington Saves, a state auto-IRA program, to provide coverage for private sector employees.

The program will launch by January 1, 2027.

Washington Saves will be an automatic-enrollment individual retirement account program. Covered participants will make retirement contributions to an IRA through payroll deduction from their pay, similar to a 401(k) plan.

The program will enroll workers at a default contribution rate of between 3% and 7% of wages. Covered Washington employers under this plan are businesses located in Washington for at least two years where employees work a combined minimum of 10,400 hours during the previous calendar year that do not already offer a retirement plan.