The COVID-19 pandemic continues to rapidly change California’s regulatory landscape. To help employers through these uncertain times, the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Investment Board has extended the current deadline from June 30, 2020, to September 30, 2020, for employers with more than 100 employees to register with the CalSavers program.
As previously reported, eligible employers had to register by a certain date, which was determined by how many employees they had. The emergency regulations don’t extend the other two deadlines:
- Employers with more than 50 employees must register by June 30, 2021; and
- Employers with five or more employees must register by June 30, 2022.
Enacted in 2016, the CalSavers program is a retirement savings program for private-sector workers whose employers don’t offer a retirement program. CalSavers requires private-sector employers to register with the program that:
- Have five or more employees; and
- Don’t maintain or contribute to a “tax-qualified retirement plan,” which is a plan that qualifies for favorable income tax treatment under Internal Revenue Code Sections 401(a), 401(k), 403(a), 403(b), 408(k) or 408(p) (payroll deduction IRA programs that don’t provide for automatic enrollment don’t qualify).
As a reminder, employers who don’t offer a qualifying retirement plan must:
- Register for the CalSavers program in compliance with the appropriate deadline based on the number of their employees.
- Within 30 days of registering, provide the CalSavers program administrator with a collection of personal information about each individual employee. This information includes: name, Social Security number, date of birth and contact information for each eligible employee.
- Deduct each employee’s contributions to the CalSavers program from their salary.
- Remit the employee’s contributions to the program administrator within seven days of deduction.
Employers can register via the CalSavers website, which also provides important information and resources for both employers and employees.
Matthew J. Roberts, Esq., Employment Law Counsel Subject Matter Expert
CalChamber members can read more about Private Retirement Savings Plans in the HR Library. Not a member? See how CalChamber can help you.
