To: Martin L. Cousineau, Finance Committee Chairperson
From: Chrystal Simpson, Chief Financial Officer
title
RE: Approval of an agreement between Genesee County and Nationwide to provide for Genesee County's 457(b) and 401(a) plans
recommendation
BOARD ACTION REQUESTED:
Requesting approval of amendments to the adoption agreements and a three-year Administrative Services Agreement amendment.
BACKGROUND:
The County has been with Nationwide since 2020 for the 457(b) and 401(a) plans. The County previously administered the plans with ICMA-RC but transitioned to Nationwide for lower cost and better transparency to the participants.
DISCUSSION:
The attached Nationwide agreements include:
401(a) Plan Adoption Agreement - restatement to move to Nationwide's new prototype documents,capture the changes that were implemented due to the original SECURE Act and the CARES Act, and updating in-service age from 70.5 to 59.5.
457(b) Plan Adoption Agreement -restatement to move to Nationwide's new prototype documents and capture the original SECURE Act and the CARES Act, but also implements the in-plan Roth conversion feature, and updating in-service age from 70.5 to 59.5.
Administrative Services Agreement - Pricing concessions as follows:
1) Reduction of the current 0.03% Nationwide explicit asset fee to 0.025%. This would result in savings to participants of $15,236 annually based on 9/30/2025 plan assets.
2) Reduction of the current Nationwide ProAccount program fee by 0.05% across all tiers, with the highest tier being reduced from 0.60% to 0.55% annually. This would result in savings to participants enrolled in ProAccount of $29,637 annually, again based on 9/30/2025 ProAccount assets.
3) An increase in the crediting yield for the Nationwide Fixed Account, with a guarantee to remain at or above 2.05% for the first year of the extension. After the first year, the crediting yield will be adjusted according to market conditions. This 0.20% increase over the current 1.85% crediting yield will result in $90,868 in additional earnings for participants in the Nationwide Fixed Account during that first year, based on the 9/30/2025 Nationwide Fixed Account total balance.
In all, these pricing concessions will result in over $135,000 in savings to our plan participants through reduced costs and increased earnings.
IMPACT ON HUMAN RESOURCES:
N/A-No impact on HR.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
N/A-No impact on the budget. The lower fee concessions will allow for more money to be distributed to the participants. None of these changes impact cost to the County.
IMPACT ON FACILITIES:
N/A-No impact on facilities.
IMPACT ON TECHNOLOGY:
N/A-No impact on technology.
CONFORMITY TO COUNTY PRIORITIES:
Approving changes to these plans that will allow for more money for the participants aligns with long-term financial stability.
resolution
TO THE HONORABLE CHAIRPERSON AND MEMBERS OF THE GENESEE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
BE IT RESOLVED, by this Board of County Commissioners of Genesee County, Michigan, that the request by the Chief Financial Officer to authorize entering into an administrative services agreement between Genesee County and Nationwide Retirement Solutions, Inc., for a three-year period commencing October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2029, for the County’s 457(b) Plan and 401(a) Plan, and restatements to the adoption agreements, is approved (a copy of the memorandum request and the agreements being on file with the official records of the September 16, 2026 meeting of the Finance Committee of this Board), and the Chairperson of this Board is authorized to sign the agreements on behalf of Genesee County.