CalSavers at Scale: David Teykaerts on Building Access, Trust, and Momentum in 2025
David Teykaerts, Executive Director of CalSavers, sat down with us to share what’s happening in the country’s largest Auto IRA program. We talked program growth, lessons from employer engagement, how CalSavers positions itself in California, and what’s top of mind in 2025. The big takeaway: implementation matters, and scale brings both opportunity and responsibility.
David, it’s a pleasure to catch up today. Let's start with a snapshot. What’s new at CalSavers in 2025?
Good news – we’ve got some big highlights. We eclipsed several psychologically significant milestones for the program. We passed the $1 billion in combined assets under management. We hit over half a million—in fact 550,000—funded saver accounts. And 50,000 employers have facilitated payroll contributions. All three of these bigger, rounder numbers all happened within a few days of each other. So, I just take those as proof of concept for the state Auto IRA model.
Just over six years in to see over a billion dollars saved by people who, realistically, would have had little or no opportunity to save through their workplace—that’s meaningful. These are workers whose employers didn’t offer retirement plans, and now they’ve got access to the retirement savings system.
And then there’s the 50,000 businesses that are actively running this program. Every payroll cycle, they’re making sure contributions go in. That’s 50,000 employers helping their people access the markets, start creating financial stability, and begin participating in something that was out of reach before. That’s one of my favorite things to talk about.
Employers are continuing to register every week—we’ll talk about that more. And now we’re focused on program maturity—refining the participant experience, increasing retention, and making sure employers stay engaged.
That’s a huge number of savers. What’s working to keep momentum going?
Simplicity. That’s one thing we’ve gotten right. The fact that it’s easy—for both the employer and the employee—is crucial. But it’s also about trust. People are much more likely to engage when they understand that this is a public program designed to help, not to sell. That trust opens the door for everything else.
You came to this space from CalPERS where you were focused on various forms of stakeholder engagement. What do you see as the similarities and differences in engagement needs?
Great question. CalPERS for those who don't know is the big California pension system and healthcare administrator for most public employees in California. CalPERS has about 2 million total members, and while it uses a lot of the same nouns and verbs as CalSavers. It's really sort of like an inverse. Here’s what I mean: as a public employee in California, you and your employer are required to contribute to CalPERS. You do not have a choice. It’s a mandatory participation program that provides guaranteed income for life at retirement.
CalSavers is the opposite in the sense that while we are a government-run program, we are for private sector businesses. And while employers are required to facilitate, they do not contribute, and contributions are completely optional for employees. They can also cash out at any time, so the program provides an emergency savings component that CalPERS does not. At retirement, savers have a balance they can use flexibly. They can use it to create income for life, but have more flexibility.
CalPERS has been around for 85 years. CalSavers has been around for six, seven years. So, we are younger and we have a totally different approach to addressing the same issue—which is workers moving through their lifecycle, getting to retirement age, and making sure folks are able to have a dignified retirement and not working until the very end of their lives.
At CalPERS, I was working in an environment with half a trillion dollars under management—a system with enormous visibility and a lot of stakeholders deeply invested in its decisions. My job was to understand the inner workings of the organization and communicate effectively across a broad spectrum—from one-on-one conversations with union leaders or city officials to formal presentations. That experience really shaped how I approach stakeholder engagement.
At CalSavers, we also have an active, engaged board with a clear vision. They care deeply about how different stakeholder groups experience the program, especially because we’re trying to shift behavior —particularly among small businesses. There’s a perception that California isn’t business-friendly, but in reality, there’s a lot of effort across state government to support small employers. CalSavers was designed with that in mind—to be as low-friction and non-disruptive as possible for small businesses, while still achieving big outcomes for workers.
“Trust opens the door. That’s what makes the simplicity of CalSavers work.”
What are you hearing from employers now that they’ve been in CalSavers for a few years?
What’s encouraging is that the concerns people had early on—that CalSavers would be too burdensome, that it would trigger ERISA issues, or even drive small businesses under—really haven’t come to pass.
Even now, as we’ve moved into the enforcement phase, we haven’t seen the kind of PR blowback that some anticipated. Yes, there are penalties for noncompliance, and those are being applied. But what’s happening is exactly what we hoped: most employers who face a penalty take it seriously and want to make sure it’s the first and last time. It’s not a philosophical debate anymore—it’s practical. Employers aren’t saying, “I shouldn’t have to do this.” They’re saying, “Okay, this is real—what do I need to do? Where do I click to upload my roster?”
That level of engagement tells me we’ve started to turn a corner toward normalization. We still get questions about costs or liability, but once they see it in action, the concerns drop. Some even ask if they can contribute on behalf of employees—which is great, but not part of the CalSavers structure. It tells us they’re thinking beyond compliance.
You’ve provided lots of simple, easy-to-use information that is employer-focused, including guides and humans as guides.
A major priority for us has been making the process as simple as possible—especially for employers. They really are the linchpin. Nothing moves unless the employer takes the right action at the right time and keeps remitting contributions for eligible employees.
To help, we’ve focused on dramatically expanding access to payroll integration. Most employers already use payroll providers for tasks like issuing checks or filing unemployment insurance. If CalSavers can plug into that same system—if retirement contributions can become just another automated function—then participation and compliance increase without adding burden.
When I started, we had about three payroll providers offering integration. Now, through a new partnership with Payroll Integrations—yes, that’s actually the name—employers using any of the top 100 payroll services, like ADP or Paylocity, can set it and forget it. There’s a nominal monthly fee, but many employers find the ease of use worth it.
We’re also focused on expanded support—more how-to videos, live webinars, an AI-powered chat feature, and a field team of five doing customized outreach across California. It’s all about making it as easy as possible to do the right thing.
David, you’re always innovating. Talk us through your new employer incentives.
To our knowledge, this is the first time a state Auto IRA program has offered a direct cash incentive to employers. We set aside $1 million to encourage early compliance from the smallest businesses—those with as few as one employee, not including the owner or spouse.
That’s our final wave of mandated participation, and it’s a big one: over half a million micro-businesses in California fall into that category. Their compliance deadline is New Year’s Eve 2025, and we’re doing everything we can to prevent a last-minute rush.
So, we’ve structured a simple incentive: any eligible employer that registers and facilitates CalSavers for just one employee by the cutoff is automatically entered into a drawing. No separate application, no hoops to jump through—just do what’s required, and you’re in.
We’ll select 2,000 employers in two randomized drawings to each receive $500, returned through the same ACH channel they already use to remit contributions. We’re excited about it—not just because it could accelerate compliance, but because it gives us a chance to highlight real employers who are stepping up. We’re hoping for strong participation and some great stories to share.
By the way, we’re funding this out of penalties paid by non-compliant employers. It’s our way of piping the money back into the community in support of our small businesses. Since we’ve put the word out, we’ve doubled the number of early employer signups.
You mention the Saver’s Match. What opportunities do you see for 2025 and beyond?
Yes—one of the biggest opportunities on the horizon is the federal Saver’s Match. Despite some policy uncertainty in Washington, we’re still on track to see this component of Secure 2.0 implemented. For low- to moderate-income savers, the potential is huge: up to $1,000 annually in federal dollars deposited straight into a retirement account.
For CalSavers, the overlap is striking. The Venn diagram between our saver population and those eligible for the Saver’s Match is incredibly tight—not exact, but close. These are working people who don’t have powerful lobbies behind them, and we see ourselves as de facto advocates for their access to that match.
That said, there’s a frustrating irony: the CalSavers account is a Roth IRA—and under current law, Roths can’t receive Saver’s Match funds. So, we’re working with federal partners and peer programs to explore solutions. That might mean adjusting the legislation or creating a parallel Traditional IRA structure to receive match dollars.
However it plays out, the impact is real. Our average account balance today is about $2,200. A $1,000 infusion could increase that by nearly 50%—and that kind of boost early on can change the arc of wealth accumulation over a lifetime.
“The Saver’s Match could be the next big lift—if we get the delivery right.”
Let’s spend a minute on program administration. You’ve got an RFP in the works.
A major internal priority right now is our RFP process for CalSavers’ two largest service providers: our program administrator—currently Ascensus—and our investment manager, State Street Global Advisors. These contracts are foundational. About 95% of the interaction that employers and savers have with CalSavers runs through the program administrator. They operate the website, the employer and participant portals, the call center, the field team, do the record-keeping and custodian work—everything. So, getting this right is absolutely critical.
One of the challenges here is that California’s public procurement rules don’t allow for much negotiation once the RFP responses come in. That makes sense in some contexts, but when you’re talking about a partner who’s touching every part of the user experience for over half a million people and nearly 60,000 businesses, it’s a tough setup.
We’ve been investing an enormous amount of time in designing a strong RFP and contract—because once it's awarded, it has to carry the full weight of our expectations. It’s not glamorous, and it’s not aspirational, but it’s the kind of detailed, behind-the-scenes work that’s essential for the long-term health and trust of the program.
Godspeed, friend! Telescoping out, as you look forward to the next opportunities and challenges for CalSavers and the Auto IRA programs, what are you seeing?
One of the major challenges ahead—for CalSavers and other state auto-IRA programs—is ensuring that employers fully understand and meet their obligations. As we wrap up this fourth and final compliance wave, our attention will shift to reviewing earlier cohorts. That means making sure businesses that said they were exempt truly are—and that those who started participating are still actively running the program. We’ll be going back to verify exemption claims, confirming that employers are operating a 401(k) or other qualified plan if that’s what they reported.
It’s a big lift, but a necessary one. Because the reality is, most people save for retirement through work. If an employer doesn’t provide access, many workers simply won’t save—and that’s where the system breaks down. So, we’re taking that seriously. There’s a massive effort ahead to audit prior exemption reports and close any loopholes. It’s not glamorous work, but it’s the kind of behind-the-scenes accountability that ensures these programs reach the people they’re designed to help. And once we get this final cohort on board, we’ll be in a much stronger position to go back and reinforce the foundation.
Last question: What advice would you give to other states or national efforts looking to do what CalSavers has done?
Focus on execution. Create the right plan design and then enforce the mandate. Build a great team, lean into communication, and get as close to your users as possible. And don’t be afraid to borrow from others—we’ve learned a lot from other states, and we hope others can learn from us. This is a shared mission. Everyone deserves the chance to build financial security.
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Want to connect with David? You can reach him by email here and on LinkedIn here.
David Teykaerts is the Executive Director of the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board, appointed in July 2023 by California State Treasurer Fiona Ma. CalSavers is the nation’s largest state-facilitated retirement program, managing approximately $1.1 billion in assets for over 530,000 funded saver accounts. As Executive Director, David oversees daily operations, ensures professional management of program investments, leads employer outreach and enforcement, and serves as the program’s primary spokesperson to both media and the financial industry.
Before joining CalSavers, David spent over a decade at CalPERS, the largest public pension fund in the U.S., where he held several leadership roles, including Chief of Stakeholder Relations. In that role, he led communications and engagement with member associations, employer groups, and policymakers on investment strategy, pension policy, and health care administration. Earlier in his career, David was a trainer and speaker at Golden 1 Credit Union, California’s largest credit union.
This piece was also featured in the August 14, 2025, edition of Retirement Security Matters. For more fresh thinking on retirement savings innovation, check out the newsletter here.
