Comptroller Kevin Lembo Archive > News
COMPTROLLER LEMBO ANNOUNCES PRELIMINARY AGREEMENT WITH PRUDENTIAL TO ADMINISTER STATE'S DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS
The state's defined contribution plans are retirement plans offered to
employees. Two of the plans, the 457 Deferred Compensation Plan and the 403(b)
plan, are voluntary supplemental plans. Another plan, the Alternate Retirement
Plan, is a core retirement plan offered to certain higher education employees as
an alternative to the State Employee Retirement System (SERS) plan. All three
plans share the same investment menu and participants benefit from that
consolidation through lower fees.
"Our goal is to provide employees and retirees with the best opportunities to
save, invest and prepare for retirement," Lembo said. "Retirement security is an
important issue for every household and our economy as a whole - so it's
important to make retirement savings options accessible and easy to navigate.
Our plan is to work with Prudential to improve the experience for those who
already participate, and to encourage more employees to embrace the process of
planning for their future."
The Office of the State Comptroller issues a Request for Proposal (RFP) for
third-party administration of the state's defined compensation plans every five
years. Following a thorough evaluation by the comptroller's office and members
of the State Employees Retirement Commission, Prudential Retirement has been
selected to administer the state's plans, beginning July 1.
Employees currently participating are not required to take any action as a
result of the transition and they will retain their current investment options.
However, Lembo said a new and improved website will be available in July that
will include expanded and improved features.
The new contract, which remains under final negotiations, will provide a
dedicated team of Connecticut-based retirement counselors and the same 26
investment options and managed account program currently offered, along with
lower administrative fees, Lembo said.
In coordination with the comptroller's office, Prudential will introduce a
comprehensive financial education initiative with enhanced tools to enable state
employees to achieve their retirement goals, Lembo said.
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