Overall, a Warm Autumn for CalSavers

By many measures, CalSavers’ fortunes matched the warm colors of the foliage in Autumn 2023, although some results did not show progress. 

CalSavers, as one of the longest-lived state-run programs that provides retirement plan coverage to private-sector employees whose employers do not have a plan, provides a useful snapshot regarding the fortunes of such plans. 

Employer Registrations 

The number of employers that registered for CalSavers showed incremental, but steady, growth through the Fall. 

By Sept. 30, the number stood at 119,045, 1,191 higher than at the end of August. By Halloween, the number of employers registered was 2,616 higher and came to 121,661. And by Nov. 30, there were 124,571 employers registered. 

The employer response rate to registration deadlines was a bit more volatile—it was 90.2% in September, rose very slightly to 90.5% in October, and fell to 87.2% in November. 

There are 39,522 employers that must register by Dec. 31, 2023, CalSavers reports; by Nov. 30, 1,708 had done so. 

Accounts 

The number of accounts contributing to CalSavers surpassed half a million in September, reaching 501,441 by month’s end. The number grew gradually throughout the Autumn, and stood at 519,859 by the end of November. 

So, too, the number of funded accounts grew gradually and consistently. There were 455,255 by Sept. 30; 462,951 by Halloween; and 471,303 by a week after Thanksgiving. 

Assets 

CalSavers’ assets were highly volatile this fall. 

They had jumped to $615,449,350 by the end of August, but then dropped by almost $1.8 million by Sept. 30. CalSavers’ assets grew by 0.1% to $614,558,520 by Halloween. But then came November—and the assets jumped 12%. In raw figures, in November, $74,042,533 was added and CalSaver’s assets stood at $688,601,053. 

Similarly, average funded account balances fell from August to September, and continued falling in October. But in golden November, the average funded account balance grew by 10%, rising $134 from October to $1,461. 

Contributions 

Contributions to CalSavers grew consistently throughout fall, by approximately 4% each month. By Sept. 30, total contributions came to $767,723,602; by Halloween, $800,742,939; and by Nov. 30, $832,239,980. 

Outflow

Money doesn’t just go in to CalSavers; participants can make withdrawals and can even opt out. 

Withdrawals. Withdrawals grew by 6% in September and by almost 7% in October; however, the growth slowed significantly in November—withdrawals grew by 1.2%.

In dollars and cents, participants had withdrawn $138,902,300 by Sept. 30, $148,318,965 by Halloween, and $157,477,854 by Nov. 30. 
The number of accounts from which all money had been withdrawn grew slowly. There were 92,881 that were fully drained by Sept. 30; almost 100,000 were empty by the end of November. 

Opt outs. Participants are free to opt out of CalSavers if they wish. The opt-out rate is ordinarily around 35%; it stood at approximately 36% in August, September, and October, and rose to 37% in November.