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Employers: Register Today

If you missed your June 30, 2021 deadline, it’s not too late to register. It takes just a few minutes to get started. No employer fees, easy to facilitate. Get started today.

GET STARTED HERE

Designed with you in mind

Employers play an important role in helping workers save for retirement. While CalSavers was created to assist employees, it is designed to be as easy as possible for all employers.

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Easy faciliation

Employers serve a limited role: facilitate the program by adding and maintaining their employee roster and submitting contributions via simple payroll deduction.

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No employer fees

There are no employer fees and employers do not make contributions to employee accounts.

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Ongoing support

You have access to detailed description of your role with tips, templates, and support so that you can focus on running your business.

Just a few simple steps

By law, eligible California employers must register and facilitate program activities by specific deadlines. Setting up your account is quick and easy. After completing these steps for the first time, you'll maintain your account by adding and removing employees and submitting payroll deductions each pay period.

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DETERMINE
MANDATE STATUS

Not all employers are required to participate. Only employers who do not sponsor a retirement plan and have 5 or more California employees must join CalSavers.

REGISTER
YOUR COMPANY

Registering takes just few minutes. You will need your company’s Federal Employer Identification Number or Tax Identification Number (EIN/TIN) and your CalSavers Access Code.

ADD EMPLOYEE
INFORMATION

When you register, you’ll submit information for each eligible employee. This will begin the automatic enrollment process. Employees will then have 30 days to decide to participate or opt out. If they do not make a selection, they will be auto-enrolled in the program.

SUBMIT EMPLOYEE
CONTRIBUTIONS

After you add employee information, you’ll begin facilitating payroll deductions each payroll period through bank transfer. These deductions will be added to the employee’s account and invested according to their selections.

Employers are not responsible for answering questions about the program, managing investment options, processing distributions, or giving investment/tax advice. Your employees will maintain their account directly through the CalSavers program.

Mandated Deadlines

Mandated employers must register before their state deadline. The three-year phased rollout includes staggered deadlines for registration based on employer size. Employers who do not fulfill their responsibilities by the specified deadline dates are subject to enforcement action which will include financial penalties.

>100

DEADLINE PASSED

September 30, 2020
(extended from June 30, 2020 due to COVID-19).

Enforcement of employer compliance is underway.

>50

DEADLINE PASSED

June 30, 2021

Missed deadline notices are in progress. Enforcement actions pending.

5+

REGISTRATION IS OPEN.

June 30, 2022

Registration deadline is approaching.
Registration materials have been sent.

 
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THE CALSAVERS RETIREMENT SAVINGS TRUST ACT

CalSavers was established in state law to address the growing retirement savings gap that will occur for many residents in the future.

READ MORE

Simple and trusted way to save for retirement

CalSavers was created to ensure all Californians have access to a simple way to save for their future.

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  • Employees will be auto-enrolled after 30 days if they do not opt out and will begin saving through payroll contributions facilitated by their employer.
  • Employees can opt out and back in at any time.
  • The savers account is a Roth IRA (after tax) that is set up in their name. (Savers can recharacterize to a Traditional IRA.)
  • The default savings rate is 5% of gross pay. Savers can change their rate at any time.
  • The savers account is portable. It stays with them even if they leave your workplace.
  • Savers can manage their account online, by phone, or using the CalSavers mobile app.

Take the next step

START FACILITATING

Get started with facilitating CalSavers.

DO IT YOURSELF
GET SUPPORT

Meet with our client services team to learn more about the program and your responsibilities

GUIDED SUPPORT

FAQ SPOTLIGHT

Can employers start facilitating CalSavers at any time? When are employers required to take action?

Eligible employers can request to register at any time. There are deadlines for eligible employers to either begin to offer their own retirement plan or register for CalSavers. The deadlines vary depending on the size of the business:

  • For eligible employers with more than 100 employees, September 30, 2020.
  • For eligible employers with more than 50 employees, June 30, 2021.
  • For eligible employers with five or more employees, June 30, 2022.

Your eligibility and compliance deadlines are based on your average employees throughout the previous calendar year. This number is calculated by averaging the numbers of employees you report to the Employment Development Department on your previous four DE9C filings for the prior year.

As an employer, do I have to facilitate CalSavers? Who is an eligible employer?

State law requires employers to either offer their own retirement plan or register to facilitate CalSavers. If you have at least five California-based employees, at least one of whom is age eighteen, and don’t sponsor a qualified retirement plan, your business is required to register for CalSavers.

Qualified retirement plans include:

  • 401(a) – Qualified Plan (including profit-sharing plans and defined benefit plans)
  • 401(k) plans (including multiple employer plans or pooled employer plans)
  • 403(a) - Qualified Annuity Plan or 403(b) Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plan
  • 408(k) - Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plans
  • 408(p) - Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees of Small Employers (SIMPLE) IRA Plan
  • Payroll deduction IRAs with automatic enrollment

If you already offer a qualified retirement plan above, please inform us of your exemption on the employer portal

Are there penalties for non-compliance?

Yes. Per Government Code Section 100033(b), each eligible employer that, without good cause, fails to allow its eligible employees to participate in CalSavers, on or before 90 days after service of notice of its failure to comply, shall pay a penalty of $250 per eligible employee if noncompliance extends 90 days or more after the notice, and if found to be in noncompliance 180 days or more after the notice, an additional penalty of $500 per eligible employee.

Are all employees eligible for the program?
When do employees become eligible?

All employees of a participating employer are eligible as long as they are at least age eighteen and have the status of an employee under California law. There are no minimum requirements based on hours worked or tenure with their employer.

Employees are eligible to participate in CalSavers from of the first day they are hired. Participating Employers are required to upload them to the portal within 30 days of their hire date.

Please note that employee contributions to the Program do not begin until the first payroll following the 30-day notification period, so depending on the length of employment, short-term employees may not be able to make contributions.

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