Cook County staff recommend dropping Nationwide, adding Edward Jones/John Hancock for deferred compensation while retaining MSRS
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Summary
County benefits staff told the Committee of the Whole on July 17 they will ask the board next week to remove Nationwide as a deferred compensation provider, add Edward Jones with John Hancock as record keeper, and keep the Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS). Staff cited lower administrative fees and repeated customer-service complaints.
Cook County staff presented proposed changes to the county27s deferred compensation offering at the Committee of the Whole work session on Tuesday, July 17, saying they will request formal board action next week to remove Nationwide as a plan provider and add Edward Jones (with John Hancock as the record keeper) while retaining the Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS).
The presentation, led by county benefits staff member Allison, said the county maintains two longstanding provider relationships (MSRS and Nationwide) and that enrollment heavily favors MSRS. Allison said customer service and responsiveness from Nationwide have prompted staff and employees to consider alternatives: "customer service ... substantially subpar," she said, recounting staff difficulties getting timely responses from Nationwide representatives.
Allison provided enrollment and fee comparisons showing 146 eligible employees, 130 actively enrolled, with 109 enrolled only in MSRS, 17 enrolled only in Nationwide and 4 with accounts split between providers. She said Nationwide27s administrative fee is 1.18% (about $20,000 annually based on plan balances), while the proposed Edward Jones/John Hancock combination would have an administrative fee around 0.65%, roughly matching MSRS and saving plan participants about $9,000 a year in fees that would remain in employees27 accounts.
The plan Allison proposed preserves MSRS as an option and would replace Nationwide with Edward Jones as the local representative; John Hancock would act as the record keeper and handle back-office administration. Allison said Edward Jones would perform the participant-transition work at no additional charge as part of onboarding.
Several commissioners questioned longer-term price stability for a new provider. Commissioner Mills urged caution, noting that introductory pricing can rise later and advising staff to check John Hancock27s history on pricing. Commissioner Gammel recommended notifying Nationwide of the county27s concerns and giving it an opportunity to respond before a final decision. Allison said she has already informed the 21 staff members with Nationwide accounts that this discussion was occurring and that outreach to Nationwide would follow.
Other details presented: two staff had already closed Nationwide accounts and moved to MSRS earlier in the year; staff said they plan to finalize a request for formal board approval at the next board meeting and aim to complete implementation before open enrollment so information is available to staff.
Next steps: Allison said she will reach out to Nationwide for input, finalize the formal request for board action, and, if approved, work with Edward Jones and John Hancock to migrate participants prior to open enrollment.
No formal motion or vote occurred during the work session; the request for a formal action was described as forthcoming for the next board meeting.
