By Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland
July 4, 2011

Even before the recent national focus on public employee retirement, The United States Conference of Mayors and Nationwide Retirement Solutions have worked together to support and educate public sector employees in their retirement preparation through 457(b) deferred compensation. Nationwide Vice President of Strategic Relationships Louie Watson spoke to this partnership at the 79th Annual Conference of Mayors in Baltimore. Watson spoke on behalf of Nationwide Retirement’s President Anne Arvia in thanking mayors for their support, Conference of Mayors President Burnsville (MN) Mayor Elizabeth B. Kautz for her leadership, and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake for hosting an exceptional event in Baltimore.

Through a deferred compensation plan, city employees can put pre-tax earnings into an investment account, which they can either closely manage themselves or manage as a fixed account. The savings can grow at a faster rate than post tax earnings, allowing employees to save more for retirement. Also, in extenuating circumstances, employees do have the option of withdrawing funds without penalty from the plan.

Nationwide’s goal is to help city employees save money so they can live well in retirement, and to provide employees with the education and information necessary to make this possible. Watson also explained that there is a Saver’s Tax Credit available to eligible municipal employees who participate in a deferred compensation retirement plan. The credit can be up to 50 percent of the money an employee defers. Watson emphasized, “That’s what we do. We help employees understand the value and benefit of these programs.” During a time when mayors and their cities are facing changes to pension and defined benefit plans in their cities, educating city employees about deferred compensation options has never been more pertinent. Nationwide’s solution-oriented team can help with pension issues facing many cities.

Nationwide’s relationships with cities transcend the retirement arena. In Philadelphia, Nationwide works with a local food bank to help provide for the community. In Ohio, where NRS works with many cities as the provider for the State of Ohio Deferred Compensation Plan, the company provides resources, time, and talent to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. These are just a couple examples of Nationwide’s community involvement.

Currently, the Conference of Mayors’ Nationwide plan holds over $6.2 billion in assets with nearly 317,000 municipal employees from almost 4,000 municipalities across the country. In closing, Watson thanked the participating cities’ mayors for allowing Nationwide to service their employees, and thanked the other mayors for their consideration.

If you would like to offer your employees the Conference of Mayors Deferred Compensation Plan, contact Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland at 301-460-5251 or send email to kweyland@usmayors.org, or contact Jeannie Fanning at 240-393-9672, email: jfanning@usmayors.org. You can also contact Louie Watson directly at watsonl2@nationwide.com.