CalSavers: If You Have Even 1 Employee, Your Registration Deadline Has Likely Already Passed
CalSavers phased in by employer size over five years. A lot of "upcoming deadline" content is describing a deadline that's already gone by for almost every business size.
CalSavers is California's state-mandated retirement savings program for employers who don't already sponsor their own qualified plan. It phased in by employer size between 2020 and 2025, and at this point every tier — including the last one, 1-4 employees, which had until 2025-12-31 — is at or past its original registration deadline. If you have California employees, don't sponsor a 401(k) or similar plan, and haven't registered or certified an exemption, you are currently out of compliance, not "approaching" a deadline.
The full deadline schedule
CalSavers rolled out in four size-based waves, each with its own registration deadline:
- 100+ employees: deadline was 2020-06-30
- 50-99 employees: deadline was 2021-06-30
- 5-49 employees: deadline was 2022-06-30
- 1-4 employees: deadline was 2025-12-31 (added by SB 1126's 2022 expansion of the mandate down to businesses with at least one employee)
Because the smallest tier's deadline was the last to arrive, some content written during 2023-2025 correctly described it as "upcoming" at the time — but that content doesn't update itself, and keeps circulating as if the deadline is still ahead.
Who's actually exempt
Exemption is narrow: you qualify only if you already sponsor a qualified retirement plan for your employees (a 401(k), SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, or similar), or if you have no California employees besides owners. Being a very small business, being new, or not having gotten around to it are not exemption categories — they're just noncompliance.
What happens if you still haven't registered
The Franchise Tax Board can assess a penalty of $250 per eligible employee starting 90 days after your applicable deadline, rising to $500 per employee for continued noncompliance after that. Because every tier's deadline has already passed, there's no grace period left to point to — the exposure is live now, not contingent on a future date.
What registering actually involves
Registration itself is not the burdensome part — employers don't manage the plan, choose investments, or make employer contributions. The employer's role is limited to registering the business, providing an employee roster, and facilitating payroll deductions for employees who don't opt out. The compliance risk here is almost entirely about employers who haven't started the process at all, not about the process being complex once started.
Check your exact status
Our CalSavers Compliance Checker walks through your employee count, current retirement plan status, and registration state to tell you exactly where you stand and what your penalty exposure looks like if you haven't registered yet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my business exempt from CalSavers?
Only if you already sponsor a qualified retirement plan (like a 401(k) or SEP IRA) for your employees, or if you have zero California employees who aren't owners. Every other private-sector employer with at least one employee must either register for CalSavers or certify an exemption.
What's the penalty for not registering for CalSavers?
The Franchise Tax Board can assess a penalty of $250 per eligible employee starting 90 days after the applicable deadline, rising to $500 per employee for continued noncompliance after that.
Is the CalSavers deadline for 1-4 employee businesses still coming up?
It was the last tier to phase in, but that deadline (2025-12-31) has also passed. Every employer size tier — including the smallest — is now past its original registration deadline.
This article is for general information only and is not tax or legal advice. Confirm your registration status and any exemption directly through CalSavers.com before relying on any estimate here.