PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2019 - 40

PLAN SPONSOR
FINALISTS
Public Defined Contribution Finalists
Newport Utilities Newport, Tennessee
Newport Utilities is a provider of electric, water, wastewater, and broadband services to portions of
East Tennessee. The plan boasts 100% participation with 100% of its employees on track to replace at
least 70% of their income in retirement. It provides a match of 383.33% up to 3%. Sixty-three percent of
participants defer 10% or more of their salary, and 58% utilize automatic deferral increases. NU has a
formal retirement plan committee, established by the board via charter, which meets quarterly. No loans
or hardship withdrawals are allowed in the plan, preventing leakage and keeping costs down. The utility's
adviser, Rather & Kittrell, Inc., since assuming that role, has conducted quarterly meetings-these being
to provide an update on plan performance. Additionally, it provides a one-on-one meeting for each new
participant. RECORDKEEPER: Unified Trust; ADVISER: Rather & Kittrell, Inc.
Connie W. Frisbee,
human resources manager
State of Michigan Lansing, Michigan
The State of Michigan administers retirement programs for its state employees, public school employees,
judges, state police and National Guard members. Each group has multiple benefit structures with varying
levels of mandatory and matching contributions. The most common structure is a DC plan that has a 4%
mandatory employer contribution and 100% matching of the first 5% of employee deferrals. It introduced
Small Steps, a program that increases participants' deferral rate by 1% each January until they are deferring
15%. It has seen a 95% increase in participants projected to replace at least 70% of their income. In the
last five years, the state has executed on legislative mandates to expand plan coverage across the publicschool
and state employee populations, plus created a personal health care fund, with match, that allows
participants to pay for health expenses in retirement. It has implemented automatic enrollment; reduced loan
availability; and established a flat, transparent administrative fee structure. RECORDKEEPER: Voya Financial
University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The University of Pittsburgh operates in a highly competitive environment as one of the leading research
institutions in the U.S. 2018 was a noteworthy year for the faculty and staff retirement savings program.
To improve the program's value, design changes were made to the 403(b) plan, which included streamlining
the investment array and adding a self-directed brokerage window (SDBW); adding a 457(b)
plan;
Anthony Estell, director, plan
development and compliance;
Kerrie Vanden Bosch, director,
office of retirement services
reducing fees; and implementing a new employee communications and engagement strategy that
delivered great results. Its average income replacement ratio is 111% vs. a peer industry benchmark of
93% and total contribution rate 18% vs. the peer industry average of 13%. Participation is 70%. During
the first two quarters of 2017, online engagement increased by 46% and 18% respectively. In addition,
the overall number of logins to the TIAA platform increased by 50% and 26% in those same two quarters.
RECORDKEEPER: TIAA; ADVISER: Cammack Retirement Group
Virginia Retirement System Richmond, Virginia
The Virginia Retirement System (VRS) is an independent state agency that administers defined contribution
(DC), defined benefit (DB) and hybrid plans, plus other benefits for Virginia's public-sector employees. The
agency oversees eight separate DC plans, including, for state employees, a supplemental 457 plan with
a 59% participation rate. The VRS DC plans each provide the same investment platform. This includes the
VRS Investment Portfolio, which offers participants the ability to invest in a unitized version of the DB trust
portfolio. Additionally, the portfolio provides a tiered investment structure, including a do-it-for-me path that
offers target-date portfolios, a help-me-do-it path with a menu of VRS-selected funds, and a do-it-myself
path with a self-directed brokerage option. VRS does not utilize revenue sharing; instead participants pay
a flat recordkeeping fee. VRS leverages a dedicated field service team to connect with employees and
encourage participation and saving in the plans. RECORDKEEPER/THIRD-PARTY ADMINISTRATOR: ICMA-RC
Cheryl Johnson,
vice chancellor
of human resources
Patricia S. Bishop,
director
40 PLANSPONSOR.com February - March 2019

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