Waukesha deferred compensation board approves MetLife Roth option for employees

At a meeting of the Waukesha City deferred compensation board, members voted unanimously to add the MetLife Roth IRA option to the city's MassMutual deferred compensation plan and authorized staff to execute the paperwork.

Kaylee, a city staff member who introduced the presenters, said the board invited Scott Goodwin and Dan Detloff, representatives of the plan vendor MassMutual, to explain the change. "They are representatives for our deferred comp vendor, MassMutual, and they are gonna speak on, adding the Roth option," she told the board.

Scott Goodwin, a MassMutual representative, said MetLife and related products have been used historically in the plan and described corporate changes that led to MassMutual distributing the MetLife product. He told the board that Bright House (a product name referenced in the presentation) has declined to add Roth contributions until all states comply; as a result, Goodwin said, the presenters proposed using MetLife's Roth product now so employees would not have to wait.

Dan Detloff, also a MassMutual representative, outlined the employee benefits the board should expect. He said the Roth option would allow employees to make after-tax payroll contributions that grow tax-free and be withdrawn tax-free in retirement. Detloff stated contribution figures in the meeting: "you have as what you can do 7,000 if you're under 50, up to 8,000," and that "if an employee wants to do more, they could do up to 32,000 in a Roth through payroll deduction." The presenters did not provide supporting documentation for those figures during the meeting; the board approved the change without requesting written substantiation at the time.

Both presenters emphasized that administrative processes would remain largely unchanged. Goodwin said the city would continue to use the same third-party administrator (referred to in the transcript as "Great Gadsby") to process enrollments and that "nothing changes for the employees" in terms of payroll or HR burden. Presenters also noted a broader set of investment options under the MetLife product, lower internal costs, and removal of surrender fees associated with the Bright House product.

Board members asked how employees would be educated about the option. Goodwin said he and Detloff had already reached employees at new-employee orientation and planned continued outreach, quarterly presentations, departmental meetings and one-on-one appointments routed through city staff.

A committee member moved to "approve the addition of the MetLife Roth IRA to our deferred compensation offerings to our employees and authorize Kaylee to execute the paperwork to do it." The chair asked to amend the motion so that "any HR staff member" could sign off when authorized; presenters said the third-party administrator requires a letter naming authorized signers. The motion, as restated, was seconded and "passed unanimously." The board then adjourned.

The action adds the MetLife Roth option to the city's deferred compensation offerings; implementation requires completion of paperwork and any authorizing letters naming signatories to be sent to the third-party administrator. The board did not set a formal timeline for employee enrollment or provide written materials at the meeting.

Next steps: staff will complete the paperwork and coordinate with the plan administrator; presenters indicated they would continue outreach to employees after the first of the year.