1801 - Contribution Rates

Category

Savings Plus

Audience List

• Accounting Officers
• Personnel Officers
• Personnel Transactions Staff
• Personnel Transactions Supervisors

Synopsis

This policy:

• provides information about enrollment in Savings Plus supplemental retirement program
• provides eligibility criteria

Introduction

"Savings Plus" is the name of the 401(k) and 457(b) Plan available to most State of California employees, including employees of the Legislature, Judicial Branch or Council, and California State University (CSU) system.  These plans allow employees to invest in their future by building a retirement savings account using payroll deductions that go into investments they select from the Savings Plus investment fund lineup.

Statement

Enrollment

Eligible employees may enroll in Savings Plus at any time.  Employees are not limited to an open enrollment period.

Eligibility Criteria

The following employees are eligible to enroll in a Savings Plus 401(k) and 457(b):

• Currently employed by the State of California or the California State University (CSU) system, and eligible for membership in CalPERS, the Legislators' Retirement System, or the Judges' Retirement System.
• Separated from State and CSU employment and return to service as a "rehired annuitant" (The term "rehired" annuitant, used in the CSU system, is also known as "retired annuitant" among State employees.)
• Active participants in the Part-time, Seasonal, and Temporary (PST) Employee Retirement Program

Contribution Rates

Annual contribution rates are determined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and are posted on the Savings Plus website upon availability.  The annual contribution limits determined by the IRS apply separately to each Plan (401(k) and 457(b)) regardless of whether the individual contributions therein were pre-tax or after-tax Roth.  Contributions are made by employee’s via payroll deduction.

Employer Contributions to Savings Plus

Collective Bargaining Agreements may include employer contributions into Savings Plus on behalf of the employee. To date, these include:

• Corrections, Bargaining Unit 6.
  • Effective November 2024 pay period, the State shall make a one-time contribution in the amount of $475 to a Savings Plus 401(k) plan, pre-tax, on behalf of all permanent full-time employees in Bargaining Unit 6 who are active as of November 1, 2024.
  • With the January 2025 pay period, the State shall make a monthly contribution equivalent to one percent (1%) of the employee’s monthly base salary to the Savings Plus 401(k) plan, pre-tax, on behalf of all permanent full-time employees in Bargaining Unit 6.
• Excluded Employees.
  • From July 1, 2000 – June 30, 2001 managers, supervisors, and confidential and specified excluded employees received contributions into a Savings Plus 401(k) plan, pre-tax, based on the employees Collective Bargaining Identifier (CB/ID).  The contribution for employees with a CB/ID of Manager and related excluded designations (M, E59, E79 and E99) was $100/month; CB/ID of Supervisory, Confidential and related excluded designations (S, C, E48, E67, E77, E68, E78, E97 and E98) was $50/month.

Application

Enroll online at www.savingsplusnow.com.

Authorities

• 401(k) Plan Document
• 457(b) Plan Document
• Government Code section 19993
• Government Code section 19999.5
• Internal Revenue Code section 401(k)
• Internal Revenue Code section 457(b)

Resources

PML

• PML 2000-058: Excluded Employee Compensation Plan - 401 (k) Thrift Plan
• PML 2001-028: PML 2001-028 - 6/27/2001 - Suspension of Employer 401 (k) Contribution for Excluded Employees

Web Pages

• Savings Plus Now: Savings Plus is the 401(k) or 457(b) plan available to most State of California employees

Authorized By

Sandy Blair
Chief
Savings Plus Division

Contact Person

Savings Plus Service Center
To speak with a service center representative say "representative", or press 0. , Savings Plus
Phone: 855-616-4776
Email: AskSavingsPlus@nationwide.com

Superseded Policies

History

View History