By Jeffrey Bean
September 15, 2008

For many cities, fall is benefits season. As they make their benfits elections, many city employees leave their retirement decisions for last, often after they allocate dollars they hoped to earmark for retirement to other things. Current healthcare costs are edging out retirement savings and more than 61 percent of households are at risk of being unable to maintain their current standard of living when they retire.

America’s public employers need help promoting their supplemental retirement plans. The National Association of Governmental Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA) created and sponsors National Save for Retirement Week (NS4RW) to help do just that. Set for October 19 through 25, National Save for Retirement Week reminds plan sponsors and providers to offer their employees what they need most – the information to act. Employees need to know what plan participation offers them and why it is so important that they enroll and actively participate.

The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM), in partnership with Nationwide Retirement Solutions (NRS), is reaching out to more than 1,100 mayors across the country to help them educate and prepare public employees for retirement. The 2008 Save for Retirement Initiative asks mayors to show their commitment and support by signing a pledge to promote the importance and benefits of participating in deferred compensation plans.

“Clearly, there is a huge opportunity for mayors to encourage city employees to save for retirement through deferred compensation programs,” said Stamford (CT) Mayor Dannel P. Malloy, the lead Conference Board Trustee for this initiative. “In doing so, cities can retain and attract highly qualified people and help employees and their families. Everyone wins.”

As part of the 2008 Save for Retirement initiative, mayors are being asked to:

• sign and pledge to actively promote retirement savings through activities like National Save for Retirement Week, October 19-25;

• reach out to employees to educate and promote the benefits of saving for retirement; and

• promote city'sponsored informational workshops for employees to learn more about their program.

USCM and NRS have developed a toolkit to assist mayors and their staffs with the initiative. To get your own toolkit or for more information, including a complete listing of mayors who have signed the pledge, showing their support for NS4RW visit www.usmayors.org/saveforretirement or contact Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland with The U.S. Conference of Mayors by e-mail at kweyland@usmayors.org.