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Employers

Program details

Newly eligible businesses

June 30, 2025

NEXT deadline

Businesses notified before January 1, 2025

Your registration deadline has passed

Your business should have previously received notifications that you are required to sign up for MERIT or certify exemption from the program.

Don't wait — take action today.

Program eligibility

Employers are required to register if they:

  • Have been in business for at least 2 years

  • Have 5 or more employees, and

  • Don’t offer a qualified retirement plan

Registration information

To begin, you’ll need your:

  • Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN)

  • MERIT Access Code from your notification

If you missed your deadline, register your business online today or reach out to the employer assistance line for help.

Don’t have your access code?

If you are unable to find the Access Code for your business, you can look it up online.

Find access code

Already offer a retirement plan?

Employers who provide a qualified retirement plan to their employees or have fewer than 5 employees should certify their exemption from the program using their provided Access Code.

Certify your exemption

Onboard your company for MERIT

There are just a few steps you need to take to get started. See how easy it is in this short video:

MERIT Onboarding
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Your responsibilities as an employer

We know that running your business is your top priority. That’s why MERIT is easy to set up and requires only light account maintenance. We’ll take care of the rest, at no cost to you.

Register

Set up your ID and password, answer questions about your company and payroll process, complete payment setup, and then add your employees.

You can even invite a payroll representative to help you facilitate this process. Your payroll representative can be an admin, a teammate, or even your bookkeeper or payroll administrator.

Send Contributions

Once you have added employees, we will communicate directly with them to explain their options during the 30 days they have to opt out or customize their account.

At the end of the 30-day period, you will record their choices, begin payroll deductions, and submit contribution information and funding for the employees who choose to stay in the program.

Maintenance

To stay in compliance, continue to send payroll contributions and maintain employee records, including updating contribution rate changes when needed, adding new employees, and marking former employees as terminated.

Things you won’t be responsible for

  • Enrolling employees into their MERIT Roth IRA.

  • Answering questions about MERIT and its investment portfolios, or helping employees choose investments.

  • Managing MERIT investment options and processing employee investment change requests.

  • Processing distributions from employee investment accounts.

  • Managing employee investment account changes. Your employees will be responsible for maintaining their account information and settings if enrolled.

Have questions?

We have answers.

Find answers to common questions, how-to videos, and other useful guides in our online Help Center.

Go to Help Center