About us
Savings Plus is a voluntary retirement program allowing you to supplement your retirement benefits through tax-deferred and Roth payroll contributions. We offer a 401(k) Plan and a 457(b) Plan. You are eligible to enroll in a Savings Plus 401(k) and 457(b) Plan if you:
- Are currently employed by the State of California or the California State University (CSU) system, and you are eligible for membership in CalPERS, the Legislators’ Retirement System, or the Judges’ Retirement System
- Separate from California State and CSU system 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)
- Are an active participant in the Part-time, Seasonal, and Temporary (PST) Employee Retirement Program
Our mission, vision, and purpose
- Mission: To enthusiastically serve our fellow California State employees and their families by empowering them to achieve and maintain a brighter financial future
- Vision: To help the State of California employees achieve and live their desired lifestyle in retirement
- Purpose: Empower California State employees to live their desired lifestyle in retirement by providing simple savings solutions
It is a mandatory retirement savings program authorized by federal law for employees who are not covered by a retirement system or Social Security. We administer the PST Program for California State employees and California State University employees.
If you are a State or CSU employee who is not covered by Social Security and you are excluded from coverage under CalPERS, you are automatically enrolled in the PST Program. The program deducts a portion of your wages and deposits it in an account for you, allowing you to build retirement savings. It is set up as a 457(b) Plan.
7.5% of your pretax wages are deducted from your paycheck and deposited in your PST Program account. They are invested in the Short Term Investment Fund – PST. The Fund seeks to maximize total return consistent with capital preservation. Your account balance consists of employee contributions, attributable earnings or losses, and asset-based fees that are netted out of the performance of the Fund. For more information on the Short Term Investment Fund - PST, you can view the fund detail page at any time by accessing your account on our website.
PST employees are also eligible to enroll and contribute to the 401(k) and 457(b) Plans. The 401(k) and 457(b) Plans provide you an opportunity to invest a portion of your salary on both a pre-tax and Roth basis and allows you the flexibility to select from an array of investment options.
Change in employment status
If your employment status changes (length of employment or time base), you may become eligible for enrollment in CalPERS and the 7.5% PST deduction from your paycheck stops.
We automatically transfer your entire PST account balance to a 457(b) Plan with the Savings Plus Program. We will notify you about the transfer and send you information about how you can begin contributing to your newly established 457(b) Plan account. Please note - If you contribute to a 457(b) Plan during the same year you contribute to your PST account, your 457(b) Plan normal deferral limit for that year must be reduced by the amount deducted from your salary for the PST Program.
Leaving employment
You are eligible for a distribution after you separate from all state employment. Your eligibility will be verified before payment is issued. We define your severance from employment as ninety (90) days from the last contribution posting with no future appointments or expectation of employment by the respective State employer. You have the following options to close your PST Retirement Program Account:
- Payment: You can request 100% direct payment of your account balance. This payment is made directly to you and is reported as ordinary income. Choose direct deposit – a fast, simple, and secure way to have your payment deposited automatically into your checking or savings account.
- Rollover: You can request to roll over the funds in your PST account to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), 401(k), 403(b) or a 457(b) Plan. Prior to requesting roll over of your funds, it is always a good idea to confirm that the receiving entity will accept the funds, since not all 401(k) plans accept 457(b) money. The payment is made payable to the IRA or plan provider and mailed directly to your address of record for you to forward to the provider. This is reported to the IRS as nontaxable. Your funds become subject to the rules that apply to IRAs or the other plan. If you are 73 or older and roll over funds from a Savings Plus account, Treasury Regulations generally require that Savings Plus pay your required minimum distribution for the current year to you directly before processing the rollover.
Dormant Account If your account balance is under $1,000 and has been inactive for more than 24 months, a force-out payment will occur. If you have not had any paycheck deductions into or out of your PST account for the past three years and your balance is $1,000 or more, your account may be considered "unclaimed" (dormant). Savings Plus transfers dormant accounts to the State Controller's Office's (SCO) Division of Unclaimed Property. Once this happens, you need to submit a claim form to the SCO to get your money back. Once on the SCO website, follow the links for “Unclaimed Property,” or contact the SCO toll-free at 1-800-992-4647 or 1-916-323-2827 (locally).
If your account becomes dormant, we send a Final Notice of Account Closure letter to the last address we have on file for you. The letter informs you to take action (take a payout or rollover your funds) by a specific date or your assets will be transferred to the State Controller's Office's Division of Unclaimed Property. For more information, visit sco.ca.gov or contact the Unclaimed Property Unit at 1-916-323-2827.
For employees hired between August 11, 2004 and June 30, 2013, ARP was a retirement program in which certain state employees were immediately eligible. The ARP is now closed to new employees. See all the details about ARP