Get answers to frequently asked questions.

Yes. If your employees are 18 or older, have earned income, and are eligible to contribute to an IRA, they can sign up for an account. They can contribute through their bank account (or by check using a mail-in paper form after the account has been set up), or they can contribute through payroll deductions, but only if you are willing to set up a deduction for them.

No, if you offer an employer-sponsored retirement plan to any of your employees, you will file a certificate of exemption and you will not need to facilitate the State's program.

Yes, cannabis-related businesses can facilitate OregonSaves by taking the following actions: Contact the Oregon Liquor Control Commission at 1-800-452-6522, select option 1, and provide your Federal Tax ID and Oregon Business Identification Number. Then, call OregonSaves at 1-844-661-1256 to confirm your information and get your Access Code to start registration.

Employees are responsible for determining if they meet income limits and are not eligible to contribute to Roth IRA accounts. Program materials will include information on income limits to help employees give consideration to whether and how they can participate in the program. At this time, OregonSaves offers Traditional IRAs to savers who need to recharacterize prior-year contributions. Traditional IRAs do not have an income limit.

The Oregon Retirement Savings Board is responsible for making decisions about the investment options available to participants of the program.

OregonSaves aims to improve access to retirement savings accounts for workers and also improve outcomes when it comes time to retire. A savings rate of 5 percent is a good place to start, but employees may need to save more than 5 percent over time to achieve financial security in retirement. Research shows that people are far more likely to save more if their retirement plan includes automatic increases.

No. The OregonSaves program is structured as a payroll deduction IRA and not as a traditional retirement plan that needs to be reported on your employees’ W2s. The IRA trustee for the OregonSaves program will file “Form 5498, IRA Contributions Information” with the IRS (as needed for your employees) and will send your employees a copy for their records no later than May 31.

The program is designed to pull together some of the best features of popular employer plans and IRAs. We’re helping to lower barriers like complex administration and high costs that may prevent employers form offering a successful retirement savings plan on their own to their employees. With OregonSaves, employers just have to facilitate the program–there are no costs and no fiduciary responsibility.

The state has sent early notifications to employers and savers related to the change in program managers, followed by a series of communications from Sumday detailing specific transition activities (i.e. timeline, what to expect, and how to prepare). Notifications were sent via email, by default, and letters were sent to savers when contact information was limited.

Now that the transition is complete, automatic contributions will continue as before, and savers are able to opt out, withdraw their contributions, or make changes to their investment choices at any time.

House Bill 2960 of 2015, now codified at ORS 178.200 to 178.245.