SURS has been chosen as a recipient of a 2023 Leadership Recognition Award by the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc (NAGDCA) for the design and rollout of its Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP).
The NAGDCA Awards recognize the brightest ideas and most innovative solutions from across the public sector defined contribution industry. The 2023 NAGDCA Awards Committee chose the top entries in each of five categories to receive an award. The Leadership Award SURS received recognizes public-sector defined contribution plans for outstanding achievements in the category of Plan Design and Administration.
Other categories included: National Retirement Security Month, Holistic Financial Wellness, Participant Education & Communication and Technology & Cybersecurity.
“It’s exciting and rewarding to be recognized for our work on creating and implementing the DCP,” said Executive Director Suzanne Mayer. “Our staff worked diligently alongside our partner Voya Financial carefully crafting a plan that would benefit our members and better prepare them for a financially secure retirement.”
The SURS Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP) is a voluntary 457(b) plan enacted in accordance with Illinois Public Act 100-769. The plan, which was first made available on March 1, 2021, provides members an avenue to save more and generate additional guaranteed income in retirement. Most active SURS members employed by a state university, community college or other government entity can participate.
The SURS DCP was designed with a built-in default investment option to provide lifetime monthly income in retirement that can help fill the gap and supplement the monthly income members receive from their SURS 401(a) core pension. The default investment option is a target date fund with a Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit option, differentiating the DCP from other supplemental savings options.
Beginning July 1, 2023, per state law, newly hired SURS members are automatically enrolled in the DCP, with the ability to change their contribution rate, create their own portfolio or opt out within the 30-day opt-out period.
The recordkeeping responsibilities of the SURS DCP are contracted to a third party, Voya Financial®, who works in partnership with SURS staff to administer the plan.
In 2021, SURS received the NAGDCA Leadership Recognition Award for its the redesign of the Retirement Savings Plan (RSP).
SURS will be recognized for this year’s award at NAGDCA’s annual conference in September.