This Law Firm Publication by Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. addresses Illinois becoming the first state to require private-sector employers to offer retirement benefits to their employees. The Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program Act, signed into law on January 4, 2015, requires employers with 25 or more Illinois employees to offer a state-run Individual Retirement Account (IRA) program called the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program Fund. Employers are not required to contribute money to the program, but must facilitate the deposit of employees' payroll deductions into the fund. Unless the employer already offers retirement benefits, penalties for failure to offer the program are $250 per employee per year or $500 per employee for subsequent years. The new Illinois Secure Choice Savings Board will implement the program within 24 months, pending the IRA arrangements qualifying for favorable federal tax treatment and the program being subject to ERISA.