(a) (1) There is hereby created within state government the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board, which shall consist of nine members, with the Treasurer serving as chair, as follows:

(A) The Treasurer.

Terms Used In California Government Code 100002

  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Person: includes any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation, or company. See California Government Code 17
  • Process: includes a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings of either a civil or criminal nature. See California Government Code 22
  • State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Government Code 18

(B) The Director of Finance, or the director’s designee.

(C) The Controller.

(D) An individual with retirement savings and investment expertise appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.

(E) An employee representative appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.

(F) A small business representative appointed by the Governor.

(G) A public member appointed by the Governor.

(H) Two additional members appointed by the Governor.

(2) Members of the board appointed by the Governor, the Senate Committee on Rules, and the Speaker of the Assembly shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority.

(b) All members of the board shall serve without compensation. Members of the board shall be reimbursed for necessary travel expenses incurred in connection with their board duties.

(c) A board member, program administrator, and other staff of the board shall not do any of the following:

(1) Directly or indirectly have any interest in the making of any investment made for the program, or in the gains or profits accruing from any investment made for the program.

(2) Borrow any funds or deposits of the trust, or use those funds or deposits in any manner, for themselves or as an agent or partner of others.

(3) Become an endorser, surety, or obligor on investments by the board.

(d) The board and the program administrator and staff, including contracted administrators and consultants, shall discharge their duties as fiduciaries with respect to the trust solely in the interest of the program participants as follows:

(1) For the exclusive purposes of providing benefits to program participants and defraying reasonable expenses of administering the program.

(2) By investing with the care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with those matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims.

(e) The board, subject to its authority and fiduciary duty, shall design and implement the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program.

(1) The board shall have the authority to provide for investment in myRAs, provided that, in accordance with the myRA provisions, myRA contributions and investment returns shall only be used for myRA investments and to make distributions to, or for the benefit of, participants and shall not be used to pay any costs of administration.

(2) The board shall maintain an investment policy statement that defines the program’s investment objectives and articulates policies and procedures enabling investment objectives to be met in a prudent manner. The board shall seek to minimize participant fees and strive to implement program features that provide maximum possible income replacement balanced with appropriate risk in an IRA-based environment. The investment policy statement shall describe the investment options available to holders of individual savings accounts established as part of the program. The investment policy statement shall include a risk management and oversight program. Investment options may encompass a range of risk and return opportunities and allow for a rate of return commensurate with an appropriate level of risk to meet the investment objectives stated in the policy.

(3) The board shall annually review the investment policy statement. The board shall review the investment policy statement and any changes in the investment policy statement at a public hearing.

(4) The risk management and oversight program shall include an effective risk management system to monitor the risk levels of the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program investment portfolio and ensure that the risks taken are prudent and properly managed. The program shall be managed to provide an integrated process for overall risk management on both a consolidated and disaggregated basis, and to monitor investment returns as well as risk to determine if the risks taken are adequately compensated compared to applicable performance benchmarks and standards.

(f) The board shall approve an investment management entity or entities, the costs of which shall be paid out of funds held in the trust and shall not be attributed to the administrative costs of the board in operating the trust. Not later than 30 days after the close of each month, the board shall place on file for public inspection during business hours a report with respect to investments made pursuant to this section and a report of deposits in financial institutions.

(Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 21, Sec. 4. (AB 102) Effective June 29, 2020.)