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Throughout the history of the NACo Deferred Compensation Program, a series of oversight measures has been put into place to ensure that the program remains competitive. An advisory committee meets three times a year to review various components of the program, including education, marketing and administration.
The investment products, both fixed and variable (mutual fund options), undergo annual performance reviews so that only top-quality products are offered. NACo staff manages and oversees the program on a daily basis.
Recently, a new layer of oversight was added to the program - an annual, comprehensive review by NACo and its corporate partners, PEBSCO and Nationwide Life Insurance Company.
This annual program review was developed as part of the long-term agreement between NACo, PEBSCO and Nationwide. In December 1995, after an extensive examination of the deferred compensation industry by NACo, the parties agreed to continue their partnership in the deferred compensation business for the next decade. PEBSCO and Nationwide have been NACo's partners since the inception of the NACo Deferred Compensation Program in 1980. The agreement continued this relationship through 2005.
Because of the long-term duration of the agreement, the parties determined that an annual review of the program would help ensure that it remains competitive. Each year representatives from NACo, PEBSCO and Nationwide meet to review the different aspects of the program, including customer satisfaction, existing services and products, potential new program enhancements, competitor programs, technology utilization, among others.
The first program review meeting was held in Orange County, Fla. on Feb. 7. The NACo team included three members of the deferred compensation advisory committee: Jean Bennett, Orange County, Fla. administrator; John Stone, Jefferson County, Colo. commissioner; and Jim Campbell, executive director of the Virginia Association of Counties. Randy Johnson, NACo president-elect, also participated.
A number of new initiatives were discussed. The suggestion that NACo and PEBSCO continue to conduct surveys and utilize focus groups to obtain feedback from participants about possible enhancements to the program was examined. The program's quarterly newsletter was reviewed to determine whether it should be changed to include a different look and information.
The programs of other providers may be systematically reviewed to assess whether there are opportunities to incorporate improvements to the NACo program. These are just a few of the areas to help the NACo program continue to be the best program for counties and their employees.
(Financial Services News was written by Fred Zeldow, NACo financial/marketing analyst.)