The Labor Department has extended the safe harbor for state-run retirement plans to qualifying cites and counties.

The amended rule means that some cities and counties will be able to require businesses that don’t provide a workplace retirement savings program to enroll workers in a government-administered IRA.

In order to qualify, a city or county must have a population at least as large as the population of the least populous state, which is currently Wyoming. Census Bureau data from 2014 puts the population of Wyoming at 584,153.

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Nick Thornton

Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.