NACo Deferred Compensation Program - History
The Creation of the NACo Deferred Compensation Program
After passage of the enabling legislation in 1978, the NACo Board of Directors believed that economies of scale and avoidance of duplicated costs and efforts would make a national deferred compensation program better for both counties and their employees. In 1979, the Board of Directors authorized its Executive Committee to develop a program offering Section 457 benefits to counties nationally.
NACo Issues Competitive Bids for Corporate Partners
Through a request for proposal, the NACo Executive Committee sought the interest of those consultants and third party administrators that had participated in the legislative battle the previous year. Because of those inquiries, the Executive Committee received proposals from three firms seeking to assist NACo in the creation of such a program for counties.
In January 1980, after reviewing the proposals and making site visits to each of the three firms, the Executive Committee selected PEBSCO of Oklahoma City (later acquired by Nationwide Life and ultimately to become Nationwide Retirement Solutions (NRS)) and now headquartered in Columbus, Ohio to assist in the creation of a NACo Deferred Compensation Program. An agreement with PEBSCO, as national third party administrator, was signed in July 1980.
Major Program Enhancements
In 1987-88, NACo spent 16 months reviewing the Program with NRS and Nationwide. As a result, the agreements with both companies were extended with amendments that enhanced the competitive nature of the Program.
In 1994 and 1995, NACo and NRS entered in a comprehensive Program review prior to the contract expiration deadline. The review included both a study of the capabilities and competitiveness of NRS by an independent consultant as well as due diligence site visits to NRS’s three major competitors. While both reviews revealed areas of improvement for the NACo Program, the NACo Executive Committee concluded that NRS remained the most qualified company in the industry to administer the Program. The Executive Committee directed NACo to undergo exclusive negotiations with NRS, focusing on Program improvement and retaining its competitiveness in the future.
Recent Program Enhancements
In December 1995, the parties signed a 10-year contract consisting of major enhancements to the Program that would ensure its industry-leading position over the term of the contract.
In July 2002, after several months of review and negotiation, NACo and NRS signed a contract that extends the agreement beyond 2005. The review and testing requirements remain in the program.
For more information on Deferred Compensation, contact Lisa Cole.
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