Emergency Regulatory Action on California Secure Choice Proposed

The California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Investment Board has announced that it is proposing the adoption of emergency regulations to implement, interpret and make specific the rules, policies and procedures dictating the operation of the California Secure Choice (CalSavers) Retirement Savings Program. The board says the regulations are necessary in order for it fulfill its duties in implementing and operating the program.

The board says that the regulations will: (1) further define and make more specific sections of statute that either explicitly require regulatory definition; or (2) address sections of statute that could benefit from further clarification. Many of the regulations directly address questions of eligibility, processes, and duties received from members of the public.

The proposed regulations would:

• define terms and definitions used in the regulations and further clarify the meaning of definitions in the statute;
• define employer eligibility for the program and establish the means by which the program shall determine such eligibility;
• establish the deadlines and processes by which eligible employers shall register for the program;
• define the duties for participating employers and the processes by which participating employers shall comply with the requirements of the program;
• establish processes for enrollment of eligible employees into the program;
• define the default account settings for participants who do not make an alternative election;
• define alternative election options available to participants;
• establish policies for participation of individuals in the program outside of employment with a covered employer;
• define processes and policies for contributions, distributions and transfer of savings; and
• define the policies for confidentiality and disclosure of information the program collects.

The board will accept public comments on the proposed regulations from Oct. 17 to Oct. 21.