By Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland
December 12, 2005

The Panel of Advisors of The Nationwide Retirement Education Institute met in Columbus in October to discuss the preliminary findings from new research conducted by Nationwide. This panel is comprised of NRS plan sponsors and retirement industry experts. Founded in 2003, the Retirement Education Institute and its Panel of Advisors aim to discover and study trends in public sector retirements in order to make informed statements on how the state of public employees’ retirement options can be improved. The Institute’s mission is to provide a credible, unbiased forum for thought, leadership, and research regarding public sector retirements.

Two reports for plan sponsors are currently being finalized, but preliminary information shows promising progress over the last two years. Average account balances are continuing to show positive growth in new contributions. Employees are also increasing deferral amounts, especially in the youngest demographics where the average deferral increase is 20 percent. Female employees show an average increase of 9.5 percent, while males have an average of a 6 percent increase since 2003. Finally, public employees asset diversification continues to improve, with almost 40 percent of all participants investing in three or more asset classes, compared to less than half of that doing so in 2000.

These trends indicate that public employees are increasingly active in their supplemental retirement plans and that education is reaching those employees. The USCM/NRS deferred compensation program places a strong emphasis on the importance of education in retirement savings. NRS representatives are available to meet with public employees. E-workshops are also online to allow greater flexibility for public employees in their planning and education.

The USCM/NRS deferred compensation program aims to close the retirement gap, ensuring that public employees have the tools necessary to determine the savings plan that will allow the ultimate realization of retirement goals.

For more information on how the USCM/NRS deferred compensation program can benefit your city’s employees, contact Katie Logisz with The United States Conference of Mayors at 202-861-6739 or send e-mail to klogisz@usmayors.org. Information is available on the web at usmayors.org or www.nrsforu.com.