CalSavers Lowers Fees

CalSavers, the largest state-facilitated automatic individual retirement account program for people who do not have access to a workplace retirement plan in the U.S., reduced employees’ fees for program operations and underlying investments on May 1.

According to CalSavers’ program details webpage, the fixed account fee per participant was reduced to $3.50 per quarter ($14 annually) from $4.25 per quarter ($17 annually). The total annualized asset-based fee was reduced to a range between 0.225% and 0.39%, from between 0.325% to 0.49%.

“Every dollar saved is a dollar that stays with California workers and their families,” said California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, in a statement. “Lowering fees through CalSavers means more of what people earn can go toward building real financial security. That’s one way we make saving for retirement more accessible and more effective for everyone.”

Meanwhile, CalSavers’ site says fees for the paper delivery of statements will increase—but employees can avoid them entirely by choosing electronic delivery for statements and trade confirmations.

“You may also be charged activity-based fees for options like choosing to receive paper statements,” the site stated. “Fees are automatically deducted from your account balance, so you will not receive a bill.”

CalSavers had more than $1.6 billion in total assets, with more than 281,000 employers registered, as of March 31, according to the CalSavers “Retirement Savings Program Participation & Funding Snapshot.” The program launched in 2019 as one of the first state-run retirement programs for private-sector employees.