Voya says most participants ‘staying the course’; Oklahoma City staff plan Roth option for Jan. 1, 2026

Andrea, a Voya representative, told the Oklahoma City Deferred Compensation Board on May 21 that the firm’s data show participants largely kept money in the plans during recent market volatility and that digital engagement has increased.

Voya highlighted that “98% 98.6% of our participants are staying the course, and have not made any investment trades or, basically moved their money,” Andrea said. The presentation also showed a 3.9% increase in digital engagement year over year and that 69% of participants had increased their contributions compared with 71% a year earlier.

The information matters because it frames how the city’s employee retirement plans are weathering market swings and whether participants are using tools and education provided by plan administrators. Voya’s data informed a discussion about whether to add a Roth contribution option to the plans.

Voya provided demographic and usage statistics for the plans, reporting an average participant age of 49, an average balance of about $91,000, and an average savings rate of 8%. The firm also flagged notable cash-flow activity: the plans experienced a roughly $15 million decrease in plan value quarter over quarter, which Voya attributed in part to investment performance and distribution activity tied to the plan transition. For one closed plan, Voya reported four full-term distributions totaling about $1.7 million and several partial distributions. Voya said Schwab was the largest rollover destination, outpacing other providers by nearly 3-to-1.

On Roth options, Andrea explained tax and timing rules: “Any investment earnings on a designated Roth account and those contributions are tax free if they have been in the account for 5 years since, since you started making Roth contributions,” she said, adding that conversions are irrevocable and that participants must pay taxes on conversions when they file returns (Voya reported it will report conversions to the IRS and withhold 20% where applicable).

A retirement system staff member told the board that the Roth option is already included in the plan documents and that implementation steps remain. “We did include that in our plan documents to be effective January 1 of 20 26, so we do have that in place. We are starting to work with IT ... and the Roth and the programming that's gonna have to go with that in testing with payroll is next on the list,” the staff member said. The staff member said the system expects Roth contributions to be available to employees starting Jan. 1, 2026, pending testing.

Board members and staff discussed outreach and education to increase registration (48% of participants had registered online) and mobile use, which Voya reported as strong. Voya also reported customer-service metrics for the quarter: 895 calls entered, 876 answered, an average handle time of 11 minutes, 52 seconds, and 233 post-call surveys averaging a 98.4 satisfaction score.

This was a presentation item; no formal board action was taken on the Voya report itself. Staff described ongoing implementation work and testing steps ahead of the planned January 2026 Roth availability.

The board moved on after the presentation to the investment consultant report and administrative items later on the agenda.