Board backs $4 state fee to sustain NEST operations and repay startup loan

Deputy Treasurer Lesley Mohlenkamp presented staff’s analysis of a state dollar‑based fee to support NEST operations and help repay an initial no‑interest loan from the state general fund. Staff recommended a $4 annual state fee (collected quarterly as $1 per quarter), a level chosen to balance revenue to the state with participant cost sensitivity.

Mohlenkamp told the board the $4 state fee, combined with program‑administrator fees and asset‑based fees, would result in an estimated total cost to a saver of roughly $30.35 on a $1,500 account under current assumptions. "At a four dollar state dollar base fee, it is expected that Nevada would collect an estimated forty five thousand per year for every ten thousand accounts," Mohlenkamp said. Board members discussed how contract breakpoints (when Vestwell reduces its base fee) could allow some or all of that reduction to be passed back to savers or used to accelerate loan repayment.

Treasurer Conine and partner Colorado’s Hunter Railey noted that scaling the program quickly reduces per‑account costs. Railey said statewide appropriations and negotiated breakpoints with the program administrator can create flexibility during early program years. Board members requested clearer explanatory slides for public outreach on how fees and basis‑points (bps) translate to costs for savers.