Kevin, the NY Secure Choice deadlines are landing right now, so I pulled a list of owner-run practices around Syracuse that fit exactly what you set up. Dental, CPA, a couple of dermatology groups, some law firms. Owner names where they're public, and a line on why each one is a timely call.
No agenda on it. Just thought it'd be more useful in your hands than sitting in my notes. Hope it helps.
Two things make this an easy door to knock on this quarter, not someday.
Any NY employer with 10+ staff, 2+ years old, with no plan has to register or set up their own. The deadlines are staggered:
Miss it and they're auto-enrolled in the state Roth IRA, with no employer-match benefit and no say in the plan.
For under-50-employee businesses, the startup credits stack to roughly $16,500: 100% of plan setup costs (up to $5,000/yr for 3 years) plus a per-employee contribution credit. So the "it costs too much to set up" objection is mostly gone. And every dollar the owner shelters in the plan comes straight off their personal taxable income, which is the part they actually feel.
So the pitch writes itself: comply before you get auto-enrolled, the setup is basically covered, and you cut your own tax bill doing it.
| Practice | Owner | Why it's a timely call |
|---|---|---|
| Atwal Dental Care North Syracuse | Dr. Inderpreet Atwal, DDS | Solo owner-dentist, bought the practice himself. Setup is near-free under SECURE 2.0 and the plan shelters his own income. |
| Janice K. Pliszczak, DDS Syracuse (Onondaga Hill) | Dr. Janice Pliszczak, DDS | Single-doctor practice, so every dollar she shelters lands straight on her personal return. The "pay yourself first" frame fits. |
| James Street Dental Arts Syracuse | Drs. Gregory French & Lawrence Corso | 5 dentists, likely 15–25 staff, so the mandate applies. Each partner can shelter $22,500+ pre-tax on top of the credits. |
These have a sharper angle: they advise their own clients on this mandate all day. "You tell them to set one up, are you sorted yourself?" lands differently than a cold pitch.
| Practice | Owner | Why it's a timely call |
|---|---|---|
| Cuomo, Winters & Schmidt East Syracuse | Maryann Winters, Mark Schmidt, Mark Strong | ~7–8 staff, 3 partners who advise medical and dental practices on tax. Peer-level credibility gap to close. |
| Kianka & Zollo Syracuse | Jay Kianka & Philip Zollo III | 5-person firm, so the mandate may not bind yet, but the credit + owner savings on a SIMPLE IRA are real now. |
| Sandra Spencer CPA Syracuse | Sandra Spencer, CPA | Solo owner of a ~7-person firm. She's the sponsor and the main beneficiary, setup costs her close to nothing. |
| Sinopoli & Sinopoli Syracuse | Owner not public, ask for the managing partner | Small-business CPA serving small-business owners. Same advisor-without-their-own-plan angle. |
| Practice | Owner | Why it's a timely call |
|---|---|---|
| Dermatology Consultants East Syracuse | Dr. Madhavi Menon, MD | 3 dermatologists + PA, ~10–15 staff, right in the mandate window. High earners, so the tax-shelter value is immediate, and an independent practice rarely has HR to set this up proactively. |
| Empire Dermatology East Syracuse | Drs. Raphael, Jinna & Singer | 11–50 staff, multi-site, so their deadline has passed. They're either enrolled in the state program now or scrambling. |
Estate and benefits attorneys write retirement and succession plans for other people's clients. The hook is the mirror: are you set up as well as you tell them to be?
| Practice | Owner | Why it's a timely call |
|---|---|---|
| Hill & Fischer, P.C. Syracuse | Barry Hill & Seth Fischer | Estate and real-estate boutique, 4–5 attorneys. They plan retirements for a living, so the mirror question is the opener. |
| Scolaro Fetter Grizanti & McGough Syracuse | Jeffrey Fetter (President) | ~30 staff and they practice employee-benefits law. They know the mandate cold, so it's not education, it's "what about your own people?" |
| Davies Law Firm, P.C. Syracuse | Frederick Davies, JD | Solo estate attorney plus staff, 30+ years in. Under 10 so the mandate may not bind, but the SECURE 2.0 setup credit still does. |
Headcounts are public-record estimates, worth a quick confirm before you size the plan. A couple of the smallest are under the 10-employee line, where the mandate may not force it but the tax math still works.
That's a dozen to start with, all within a short drive. If you want me to pull more in a specific town, or find the ones with a partner change or a new hire (the moments a plan conversation actually opens), happy to. Otherwise no agenda at all, just shout if you've got questions.
reply to Max