On April 15, the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Investment Board voted to delay the program’s first enrollment deadline for companies with more than 100 employees from June 30 to September 30, 2020. This delay is intended to give companies a longer runway to deal with the impact of COVID-19 without having to worry about the requirements of the CalSavers program through the summer.
While the delay does not directly impact ERIC member companies since employers that already offer a tax-qualified retirement savings program are exempt from the CalSavers program, it does allow more breathing room for companies to register their exemption. CalSavers currently uses federal Form 5500 filings and other available data to register companies that are exempt and encourages employers not included in available data to voluntarily register their exemption through the CalSavers portal. While this registration process is voluntary, CalSavers has already begun to contact companies that have not yet registered themselves, urging them to do so.
Under ERIC’s agreement with CalSavers, ERIC member companies can avoid these communications by providing ERIC with the company names and FEIN information for all affiliates and subsidiaries operating within California. ERIC will then transfer this information to CalSavers, who will register all provided organizations as exempt in their system.
Article by Dillon Clair, Retirement and Compensation Policy Associate