LRS Publishes First Cannabis Industry Retirement Report

SEATTLE – The Cannabis industry has taken a notable step toward standardizing employee benefits with the release of its first dedicated retirement report, shedding light on a benefit long limited by federal restrictions.

Leading Retirement Solutions (LRS), an expert in retirement plans for Cannabis businesses, has published the inaugural Cannabis Industry Retirement Report – the first broad examination of 401(k) adoption in the sector.

The study draws from LRS’s own portfolio of 140 Cannabis-specific 401(k) plans, which cover more than 420 entities. Those plans serve over 17,000 participants and hold more than $71 million in assets, according to the company.

The figures arrive against a backdrop of persistent federal barriers. Cannabis remains classified as a Schedule I substance, which has deterred most mainstream financial institutions from serving the industry. Employers have turned to niche providers like LRS, which has offered compliant plans since around 2015, navigating ERISA requirements, tax code section 280E adjustments, and payroll challenges unique to Cannabis operations.

“These numbers reflect meaningful progress for Cannabis employers and their workforce,” said Kirsten Curry, CEO of Leading Retirement Solutions, in the announcement. The report highlights participation trends, compliance approaches, and areas where gaps persist.

Industry-wide context adds perspective. Recent estimates place legal Cannabis employment at roughly 417,000 to 440,000 full-time jobs nationwide, supporting annual revenues exceeding $26 billion across dozens of states with adult-use or medical programs. Yet, retirement coverage has lagged, with many operators unable to access conventional providers. The $71 million in tracked assets represents a small fraction of potential savings but demonstrates that, where compliant options exist, employees enroll and contribute.

The report’s release underscores a practical response to talent competition in a maturing market. Offering retirement benefits helps Cannabis companies attract and retain workers, especially as state-level mandates in some jurisdictions push broader adoption of savings plans. Still, solutions remain fragmented, dependent on specialized administrators rather than widespread banking integration.

No major federal policy shift has altered the core constraints since the last rescheduling discussions, leaving incremental advances like this one as the primary path forward for employee financial security.

As the sector tracks its own metrics more closely, reports of this kind establish benchmarks that could guide future employer strategies and, potentially, inform discussions on regulatory reform. For now, they quantify a steady expansion of a benefit once considered out of reach for much of the Cannabis workforce.

Photo courtesy of Anastasia Samoylova/The New York Times