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Committee approves St. Mary's County 457(b) plan summary showing $23.7 million in assets
Summary
The governance committee received Voya’s 2024 plan summary showing a $1.5 million increase in assets to $23.7 million, approved the summary, and was briefed on participant engagement metrics and upcoming small‑balance distributions.
Sarla, a Voya plan representative, presented the 2024 Voya 457(b) plan summary to the St. Mary's County governance committee on Feb. 27, reporting a beginning balance of $22,200,000 and an ending balance of $23,700,000. “There was $1,700,000 added through payroll contributions, which was about a 19.86% increase compared to the prior calendar year,” Sarla said. She reported that 92% of contributions were pre‑tax and that distributions for the year totaled $3,100,000 across 61 participants.
Sarla gave participant‑engagement and account metrics: 56 new accounts were established (about a 14.2% increase year over year), the plan counted 445 participants (including active and separated employees), and 34 participants had account balances under $7,000 that the administrator plans to automatically distribute on April 4. The average deferral rate was 6.4% compared with 7.9% the prior year; the plan’s average account balance and use of target‑date funds were both above benchmark. “The overall fee to participate is currently 0.2 percent 20 basis points. That was decreased for the first quarter, so now it's 18,” Sarla said; the reduced fee will appear on first‑quarter statements.
The committee discussed participant registration and outreach. Sarla said 68% of participants had registered their accounts online and that Voya can run targeted lists for the county so the committee can encourage registration and multifactor authentication enrollment. Charles Griffin, Voya’s cybersecurity unit member, had earlier recommended that participants avoid using a personal email as a username, use a long passphrase, and register a cell phone for multifactor authentication; the committee welcomed those practical tips for employee communications.
Action: Chris Caslamis moved to approve the 457(b) 2024 Voya Plan summary; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously. (Vote tally: 7 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain.)
Why it matters: The plan summary provides the committee with the fiduciary picture for the county's deferred‑compensation plan, including contribution trends, participant engagement, fund allocations and fees. Committee members requested that Voya and HR target communications to unregistered participants ahead of the small‑balance distributions on April 4.
Next steps: Voya will provide materials and lists to county HR so the county can remind employees to register, enable multifactor authentication and review their deferral rates ahead of the planned small‑balance distributions.
