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Commission authorizes staff to seek alternatives after retirees’ complaints about Nationwide/NBS administration
Summary
After a year of transition issues including delayed COLA processing, late filings and poor communications, Morrow County authorized staff to pursue alternatives to current retirement-plan administrators Nationwide (custodian) and NBS (administrator). Board members cited repeated delays and directed staff to begin vendor outreach and evaluations.
The board authorized county staff to seek alternatives for administration of the county’s defined‑benefit retirement plan after staff recounted multiple failures and prolonged customer‑service problems since transitioning fund custody to Nationwide and day‑to‑day administration to NBS.
Human-resources and finance staff described problems that included missed or delayed cost‑of‑living adjustments, delayed benefit starts, untimely tax and actuarial filings, and long delays in responding to retiree and staff inquiries. "We've had untimely tax payments and other compliance items that required county staff to step in to avoid fines," staff said. Commissioners and staff agreed that the county is ultimately liable for filing and compliance regardless of third‑party arrangements.
Staff recommended first notifying NBS/Nationwide of the county’s concerns and giving them an opportunity to remedy service issues, and then to proceed to identify alternative third‑party administrators. The board voted unanimously to authorize staff to explore other providers and to begin outreach and vetting; staff said any replacement or change will be deliberate and is unlikely to conclude before the new year. Commissioners asked staff to collect retiree complaints and to refer direct complaints to HR so the county can document specific cases.
What happens next: staff will assemble a list of potential vendors, prepare a scope for evaluation, and report back with a timeline and options. The county stated it has contractual termination options (30‑day notice) and will seek to avoid service interruptions for retirees.
