CalSavers on hunt for new leader as executive director Selenski departs

Katie Selenski

The California auto-IRA program is not only the biggest in the country, but its arrival correlated with a pick-up in new 401(k) plans in the state.

The biggest auto-IRA program in the country is looking for a new executive director after Katie Selenski, who has led it since its inception, stepped down last Friday.

CalSavers, which at more than $474 million represents over half of the country’s total assets in auto-IRAs, covers more than 417,000 workers across 118,000 employers, according to data from the program and Georgetown University’s Center for Retirement Initiatives.

“I have just as much confidence in the program as I’ve ever had and I am so proud of our impact, but after six years of intense work to start it from scratch and see it through several stages of evolution, it’s time for me to pass the baton,” Selenski said in an email. “It was a big lift to design, build and roll out the program and impose the mandate while fending off litigation that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and responding to Covid.”

Selenski gave her notice about six weeks ago, and the CalSavers board has since started the process of a search for her successor.

“CalSavers has a talented and professional team, and the Board is confident in their ability to keep the program operating smoothly in the interim,” Joe DeAnda, director of communications for the California State Treasurer’s Office, said in an email. “While we’d like to appoint a replacement quickly, we will take our time to ensure that we find the best candidate for the job.”

Currently, California employers with five or more employees must participate in the program if they do not already offer a retirement plan for their workers. Businesses with fewer than five employees can participate voluntarily but will be required to do so by the end of 2025, according to the state.

The California legislature passed the law establishing CalSavers in 2017, and the program started in 2019. It faced an early legal challenge from conservative group the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, although the case was dismissed several times and appealed, ultimately heading to the Supreme Court, which last year declined to hear the lawsuit, effectively ending the litigation.

Selenski is taking time off to travel and recharge before deciding on her next move, she said.

“I felt it was important to wait until I separated from my government role before really engaging about options in the industry,” she said.

Aside from growing quickly to become by far the biggest auto-IRA program in the U.S., a sign of the effect that CalSavers is having on retirement saving is a bump in the creation of new employer-sponsored 401(k)s in the state, she noted. A report last week from The Pew Charitable Trusts found that new 401(k)s’ share of total plans in California averaged 9.4% between 2019 and 2021, compared with an average of 8.1% from 2013 to 2018.

“I’m so proud of what our team has accomplished so far, and it’s really just the beginning. CalSavers and our peer states are driving expansion of retirement security on two fronts,” Selenski said. “It’s not just the participation in our public programs; it’s also the new coverage provided by new 401(k) plan formations as a result of our mandates.”