CalSavers
CalSavers is California's state-mandated automatic enrollment payroll deduction IRA program for workers whose employers do not offer a retirement plan, administered by Ascensus under the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board. It serves California employers and workers with $1.6B+ in total program assets across 629,000+ accounts as of 3/31/2026.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersNewton, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What CalSavers does
CalSavers is the California state-sponsored automatic enrollment payroll deduction IRA program, established under Title 21 of the California Government Code through legislation passed in 2018 and overseen by the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board (chaired by the California State Treasurer). The program is administered on a day-to-day basis by Ascensus College Savings Recordkeeping Services, LLC, with investment management provided by State Street Global Advisors for target-date and money market funds and by Calvert Research and Management for the ESG fund option. California employers with one or more employees that do not sponsor a qualified retirement plan are legally required to facilitate CalSavers; employees are automatically enrolled at a 5% default contribution rate that escalates by 1% per year to a maximum of 8%, with a 30-day opt-out window.
The platform is built around two core portals—the Employer Portal (for company registration, employee roster management, and payroll contribution submission) and the Saver Portal with companion mobile application (for individual IRA account management)—plus a network of 360-degree payroll integrations covering over 100 providers through Payroll Integrations Inc. and direct integrations with Paychex and TJH Payroll. Investment options include age-based Target Retirement Funds that automatically rebalance toward age 65, a Money Market Fund used during the initial 30-day holding window, and a Calvert-managed ESG Fund. Supporting tools include a retirement calculator, multilingual webinar education programs in 10+ languages, and the CalSavvy AI chatbot for employer support.
CalSavers is funded entirely through participant fees—specifically a $3.50 quarterly Fixed Account Fee and a Total Annualized Asset-Based Fee of 0.225%–0.39% of account balance, plus paper-delivery and paper-check transactional fees—there are no employer fees, employer contributions, or employer fiduciary liability. As of March 31, 2026, the program reported over $1.6 billion in total assets across 629,000+ accounts and 281,000+ savers. Critically, CalSavers is a public-policy initiative of the State of California, not a private or investable company; it does not have shares, funding rounds, or acquisition appeal.
CalSavers firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CalSavers
- Legal name
- CalSavers Retirement Savings Program
- Website
- https://calsavers.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- CalSavers is California's state-mandated automatic enrollment payroll deduction IRA program for workers whose employers do not offer a retirement plan, administered by Ascensus under the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board. It serves California employers and workers with $1.6B+ in total program assets across 629,000+ accounts as of 3/31/2026.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CalSavers industry classification
Industry- Product category
- State Retirement Savings Program
- NAICS
- Pension Funds (525110), Pension Funds (52511)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Pensions & Retirement Benefits Administration (BPAIAKAA)
Keywords
Where CalSavers is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Newton
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
CalSavers business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others
Revenue model
- Asset-Based Fees: CalSavers charges asset-based fees to program participants (savers) to fund program operations and underlying investments. Fees include a Fixed Account Fee of $3.50 per quarter ($14 annually) and a Total Annualized Asset-Based Fee ranging from 0.225% to 0.39% of account balance depending on investment choice.
- Payroll Integrations Third-Party Fees: Payroll Integrations Inc. charges monthly fees to employers for automated payroll integration services, with fees based on number of active employees: $30/month for 1-25 employees, $45/month for 26-50, $60/month for 51-100, and $85/month for 101-499 employees.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Quarterly | Fixed Account Fee - Quarterly charge for account maintenance |
| Usage-based | Annual | Asset-Based Fee - Percentage of account balance |
| Subscription | Quarterly | Paper Delivery Fee - Quarterly charge for paper statements |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Paper Check Fee - Charge for paper check withdrawals |
| Subscription | Monthly | Payroll Integrations - Third-party payroll provider integration (optional) |
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
CalSavers product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CalSavers is California's state-sponsored auto-enrollment retirement savings program established by Senate Bill 1234 (signed September 30, 2018) for private-sector workers without access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. The program offers Roth IRA and Traditional IRA accounts with payroll deduction contributions, Target Retirement Funds and other investment options managed by Capital Group, and is administered by Ascensus College Savings Recordkeeping Services, LLC under the oversight of the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board chaired by the California State Treasurer.
Product overview
CalSavers is California's state-sponsored retirement savings program providing automatic enrollment payroll deduction IRAs. The platform consists of two core portals: the Employer Portal for business registration, employee roster management, and payroll contribution submission; and the Saver Portal (with companion mobile app) for individual account management. Investment options include Target Retirement Funds (age-based lifecycle funds), a Money Market Fund for short-term holdings, and an Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) Fund. Supporting tools include a retirement calculator, multilingual webinar education program, and an AI-powered chatbot (CalSavvy) for employer support. The program is administered by Ascensus College Savings Recordkeeping Services under oversight of the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CalSavers Roth IRA Account Roth IRA retirement savings account available to California workers through automatic payroll deduction contributions, with after-tax contributions and tax-free qualified withdrawals; participants may select any contribution rate including the default 5% and choose the Capital Group ESG Fund or Target Retirement Funds.
- CalSavers Traditional IRA Account Traditional IRA retirement savings account available to California workers through automatic payroll deduction contributions, with pre-tax contributions and tax-deferred growth; contributions are tax-deductible and earnings taxed only upon qualified withdrawal.
- Target Retirement Funds Target-date based investment funds managed by Capital Group for CalSavers Saver-Ra and Saver-Ba participants, with vintages available in 5-year increments from 2010 through 2065 and quarterly rebalancing; the default investment for participants who make no selection.
- Money Market Fund Capital Group money market investment option for CalSavers Saver-Ba participants, designed as a capital preservation fund.
- ESG Fund Capital Group ESG-focused investment option for CalSavers Saver-Ra participants, incorporating environmental, social, and governance factors.
Quantifiable outcome
- Research shows people are 20 times more likely to save if they have an automatic enrollment retirement option at work.
Companies that use CalSavers
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
CalSavers technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature3 records
CalSavers partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Ascensus College Savings Recordkeeping Services, LLCcoreACSR serves as the program administrator responsible for day-to-day program operations including account management, contribution processing, and customer service. Handles all participant account administration and recordkeeping.
- Calvert Research and ManagementcoreManages the CalSavers Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) Fund investment option selected by the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board.
- State Street Global AdvisorscoreManages all CalSavers investment options except the ESG Fund. Provides the underlying target-date retirement funds and money market fund options.
- Payroll Integrations Inc.coreThird-party platform that securely connects CalSavers with over 100 payroll providers through 360-degree integration for automated payroll syncing. Charges monthly fees based on number of active employees (1-25: $30, 26-50: $45, 51-100: $60, 101-499: $85).
- PaychexcorePayroll provider offering direct 360-degree integration with CalSavers, allowing employee contribution information to be securely transmitted automatically. Pricing and setup managed directly by Paychex.
- TJH PayrollcorePayroll provider offering direct 360-degree integration with CalSavers, allowing employee contribution information to be securely transmitted automatically. Pricing and setup managed directly by TJH Payroll.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CalSavers competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Ascensus: Program administrator and recordkeeper for CalSavers. While not a competing product, Ascensus is the key operational vendor and operates analogous auto-IRA programs for other states, making it the most thematically adjacent ecosystem participant.
Broad incumbents
- Betterment: Digital wealth manager offering individual IRA products that compete for the same self-employed and gig-worker savers CalSavers targets through its self-enrollment channel, while also offering 401(k) plans that compete with CalSavers on the employer side.
Emerging players
- Vestwell: Small-business-focused retirement platform that administers state auto-IRA programs (e.g., MarylandSaves, NYC Secure Choice) and competes with CalSavers at the edges by making it easier for small employers to sponsor their own 401(k) plan instead.
- Guideline: Low-cost 401(k) provider for small businesses. Competes indirectly by giving California employers an easy, affordable path to sponsor a qualified plan and exempt themselves from the CalSavers mandate.
Direct peers
- Illinois Secure Choice: Illinois' state-sponsored auto-IRA program for private-sector workers without employer plans. Directly comparable to CalSavers in mandate structure, default contribution rates, and opt-out enrollment mechanics, and serves as a regional benchmark for program economics.
- OregonSaves: Oregon's state-facilitated auto-IRA retirement savings program, structurally identical to CalSavers (state mandate, automatic enrollment payroll deduction IRA, no employer fees). Operates as the closest functional analog for a California-focused auto-IRA program.
- MarylandSaves: Maryland's state-run auto-IRA program administered by Vestwell. Operates the same mandate-plus-auto-enrollment model as CalSavers and competes for the same cohort of uncovered workers in a different state.
- Washington Work & Save: Washington state's auto-IRA program for private-sector workers without access to a workplace retirement plan. Comparable to CalSavers across mandate design, default contribution rate, and target-date fund lineup.
- MassSaves: Massachusetts' Corebridge-managed state auto-IRA program. Shares the CalSavers blueprint of employer mandate, automatic enrollment, and Roth IRA structure, making it a strong comparable on fee structure and participant experience.
- MyCTSavings: Connecticut's state-facilitated retirement savings program for workers without employer-sponsored plans. Closely mirrors CalSavers on auto-enrollment, payroll deduction, and exemption-via-qualified-plan mechanics.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CalSavers social profiles
Digital presenceCalSavers financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CalSavers leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
CalSavers funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CalSavers M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CalSavers
What does CalSavers do?
CalSavers is California's state-sponsored auto-enrollment retirement savings program established by Senate Bill 1234 (signed September 30, 2018) for private-sector workers without access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. The program offers Roth IRA and Traditional IRA accounts with payroll deduction contributions, Target Retirement Funds and other investment options managed by Capital Group, and is administered by Ascensus College Savings Recordkeeping Services, LLC under the oversight of the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board chaired by the California State Treasurer.
Is CalSavers a public or private company?
CalSavers is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was CalSavers founded?
CalSavers was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is CalSavers based?
CalSavers is headquartered in Newton, United States, in the North America region.
How does CalSavers make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Asset-Based Fees are the primary driver. The others are payroll Integrations Third-Party Fees.
Who are CalSavers's main competitors?
Ascensus is listed as an others. Betterment is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are Vestwell and Guideline. Direct peers are Illinois Secure Choice, OregonSaves, MarylandSaves, Washington Work & Save, MassSaves and MyCTSavings.
Does CalSavers have an API?
No public API is recorded for CalSavers.
What industry is CalSavers in?
CalSavers's product category is State Retirement Savings Program. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAIAKAA, Pensions & Retirement Benefits Administration. Its NAICS code is 525110.