By Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland
October 26, 2009

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz has been recognized by Natiownide and The U.S. Conference of Mayors with the City Workers Leadership Award. Through his leadership, 71 percent of city workers in Miami are participating in deferred compensation, one of the highest participation rates in the country. Presenting the award were Conference of Mayors Managing Director Jeff Bean and Nationwide Retirement Solutions Vice President of Strategic Relationships Louie Watson.

Diaz is a long-time advocate for city workers saving for retirement. During his Conference of Mayors Presidency (December 2007 – June 2009), he championed the Save for Retirement Initiative, a program that leverages National Save for Retirement Week by empowering mayors with tools and materials they can use to promote retirement saving among their workers.

National Save for Retirement Week is an event developed by the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators designed to help local government workers recognize that traditional pensions and Social Security may not provide enough income in retirement. This year, National Save for Retirement Week was October 18 – 24.

Last year, 153 mayors in 39 states pledged their support for the Save for Retirement Initiative. Many mayors also took advantage of the resources in the Conference of Mayors Toolkit available exclusively online at www.usmayors.org/saveforretirement. The toolkit includes new content for 2009 and will be updated throughout the year.

As part of the 2009 Save for Retirement Initiative, the Conference of Mayors asks mayors to:

1) Sign the Pledge, which is their commitment to actively promote Save for Retirement in their city (mayors can sign the pledge at www.usmayors.org/saveforretirement);

2) Reach out to employees to promote the importance and benefits of saving for retirement through a deferred compensation program tailored for public employees; and

3) Promote city'sanctioned informational workshops for employees that are conducted by their city’s deferred compensation provider.

Nationwide and the Conference of Mayors have worked together for 30 years to help public employees prepare for and live in retirement. The 2009 Save for Retirement Initiative is open to any deferred compensation program, regardless of whether Nationwide is the service provider.

For information, including a complete listing of mayors who have signed the pledge, contact Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland with The U.S. Conference of Mayors at 301-460-5251 or online at www.usmayors.org/saveforretirement.