October may be the month of ghosts and hobgoblins, but in 2021 it was anything but scary—at least for CalSavers. The program the state of California provides for employees whose employers do not offer a retirement plan showed strong growth in some respects during the month.
The CalSavers Retirement Savings Board reports that the number of employer registrations increased at a double-digit rate. So did the assets in the program, as well as average funded account balance.
CalSavers growth rates in other areas did not show such a dramatic increase. The number of payroll contributing accounts grew 4.4% in October, and 5.9% more employers started making payroll deductions through the program by the end of the month.
More specifically, CalSavers grew by the following measures:
| Measure | As of Sept. 30, 2021 | As of Oct. 31, 2021 | Change, September -October | % Change, September -October |
| Employers registered | 14,413 | 17,025 | + 2,612 | + 18.1% |
| Employers that have started payroll deductions | 5,929 | 6,277 | + 348 | + 5.9% |
| Payroll Contributing Accounts | 207,469 | 216,504 | +9,035 | + 4.4% |
| Total assets | $126,145,383 | $144,760,876 | +$18,615,493 | +14.8% |
| Average funded account balance | $652 | $718 | +$66 | +10.3% |
Withdrawals
Participants may make withdrawals from their accounts as well. The amount withdrawn and the number of account holders who made withdrawals grew; however, the growth was significantly lower than that in the spring.
| Measure | As of Sept. 30, 2021 | As of Oct. 31, 2021 | Change, September -October | % Change, September -October |
| Withdrawals | $13,720,246 | $15,665,723 | +$1,945,478 | +14.8% |
| Accounts with a partial withdrawal | 1,477 | 1,702 | +225 | +15.2% |
| Accounts with a full withdrawal | 25,102 | 27,000 | +1,898 | +7.6% |
Opt Outs
Participants may opt out of CalSavers. The percentage of participants opting out fell slightly from Sept. 30 to Oct. 31. The rates also are lower than those of much of 2021; for much of the year, opt-outs had held at around one-third.
| As of Sept. 30, 2021 | As of Oct. 31, 2021 | Change, September -October | % Change, September -October |
| 29.7% | 29.6% | -0.1 percentage points | -0.4% |
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