A bill signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul this week is meant to propel the enrollment of private-sector workers in retirement savings plans if their employer doesn't already offer one. 

The measure approved by Hochul is meant to trigger the implementation of a 2015 provision creating the retirement savings program. The measure will enroll workers without retirement savings plans automatically into payroll-deducted IRA. 

The plan is meant to be portable for workers who change jobs and they can opt-out of it at any time. 

"Part of ensuring that New Yorkers are financially stable is guaranteeing they have a reliable retirement plan," Hochul said. "This legislation allows all workers to have a sense of relief and security when it comes to retirement."

The measure would apply to businesses with 10 or more employees. It's expected to affect about 2.5 million workers in the private sector in New York whose employers do not offer retirement savings plans. 

"There are millions of New Yorkers that don't have that secure retirement but that will no longer be the case and I applaud Governor Hochul for signing the expanded NYS Secure Choice Savings Program," said Sen. Diane Savino, a Democrat who had sponsored the legislation in the state Senate. "Everyone thinks that when they are 22 or 23 they aren't going to be 52 or 53, they always think they have time to save for retirement. Secure Choice will provide private-sector employees with an automatic, portable vehicle for retirement savings that will help ensure income security in retirement."

The AARP in New York had supported the legislation as a key way of bolstering savings for workers, especially people who work in lower-income jobs. But business groups had raised concerns about the administrative burden the measure could put on employers.