If a business owner or shareholder is also an employee, are they eligible to participate?

Yes, they can participate if they are considered to be employees for tax purposes.

Do I need to facilitate the program if I have only a small number of employees?

Yes, all employers, no matter how many employees they have (even one) must facilitate OregonSaves, if they don't offer a qualified, employer-sponsored retirement plan.

Do I need to offer the program to work-study students?

No, you do not need to facilitate the program for full-time students in work-study programs.

Do payroll deduction IRAs count as an employer-sponsored retirement plan?

No. Payroll deduction IRAs are not qualified retirement plans as defined by either federal or Oregon state statutes.

Can employees in my employer-sponsored retirement plan also participate in OregonSaves?

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.

If I offer my employer-sponsored retirement plan only to some employees but not all, do I have to offer the State's program as well?

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.

Who will be responsible for determining if employees meet income limits?

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.

Are my employees who have H-2A visas eligible for the program?

Yes, however, they can only be enrolled and have an account created for them if they work for more than 60 days and if enough verifiable information is available to create an account in their name. If the program is unable to verify their information, an account will not be established for them.

Are workers of only certain immigration statuses eligible for the program? Are undocumented workers eligible?

Only workers with a verifiable individual tax identification number (ITIN) or Social Security number (SSN) can participate in the program. If a worker's information cannot be verified, the worker will not be enrolled, and an account will not be established for him or her.