More than 10,000 private-sector employers have registered with California's state-run retirement savings program, the State Treasurer's Office announced in a news release.
Most private-sector employers that do not offer their workers a retirement plan are required to make the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program available to their workforces. The program is structured as an automatic-enrollment, payroll-deduction individual retirement account.
Since its launch in July 2019, the program has amassed more than $57 million in retirement savings, according to the Wednesday release. Some 134,000 participants are contributing an average of $131 a month with another roughly 187,000 participants yet to fund their accounts, said Katie Selenski, CalSavers' executive director, in an email.
Still, the program has fallen short of registering the total estimated employers required to join the program, according to data on CalSavers' website. As of March 31, 70% of the estimated 8,481 employers with more than 100 employees that were required to register with CalSavers by Sept. 30, 2020, had either registered or responded to the state's request to do so.
"We know that many businesses are still struggling with the effects of COVID and some are still shuttered," Ms. Selenski said. "Given all of the challenges in communities across the state, we consider a 70% employer response rate pretty solid, and we're working every day to support employers in their onboarding as the state and businesses gradually reopen."
In the release, State Treasurer Fiona Ma noted that employers with more than 50 employees face a registration deadline of June 30.
As of March 31, roughly 35% of the state's estimated 10,785 employers required to register by the upcoming June 30 deadline had either registered or responded to the state's registration request.
