Nevada board directs staff to pursue interstate partnership RFI for state retirement program

Treasurer Zach Conine, chair of the Board of Trustees of the Nevada Employee Savings Trust, said the board would continue exploring interstate partnership options rather than immediately launching a separate RFP process.

"I think it makes sense for us to explore down the RFI path and the partnership path," Conine said as the board weighed whether to join existing state Auto IRA programs or build a Nevada-specific program. Staff had presented three RFI responses from Colorado, Illinois and Connecticut and a side-by-side summary prepared by AKF Consulting and PEW Charitable Trusts.

The board directed staff to follow up with respondents on statutory compatibility, fee breakdowns and payroll integration questions and to return with additional modeling and clarifications. Member William H. Palmer III moved the motion to proceed down the RFI path; the motion passed unanimously with members Joseph Caldera, Andy Kao and Mary Beth Sewald voting yes.

Deputy Attorney General Nicole N. Ting reminded the board that Nevada’s statutory framework limits what can be achieved by contract: "we have the statutory authority to not go down the RFP process, but instead enter these state partnership agreements," she said, underscoring that any partnership must comply with state law.

The board requested that staff obtain clarifying answers about employer mandates, fee breakpoints and payroll-provider integration costs and asked PEW and AKF to supply fee- and asset-projection scenarios for comparison at a future meeting. The motion gives staff authority to continue the RFI follow-ups but does not commit Nevada to any particular partner or contract.