On April 14 the Greenbelt City Council voted 6 to 1 in favor of transitioning the city employee retirement plan from the longtime use of MissionSquare to Nationwide, with Councilmember Rodney Roberts giving the dissenting vote. The city’s long-standing broker NFP, a global benefits broker, represented by Andrew Prevost and Ray Reeves, met with council at this meeting to give the results of their effort to find the best deal possible for employees, with Nationwide emerging as the front-runner in many areas. This decision impacts current employees primarily, as retirees are free to use any provider of their choice at any time, including MissionSquare.
In addition to MissionSquare and Nationwide, NFP initiated a bidding exchange with the following providers: Voya, Corebridge, Empower and Lincoln. After several exchanges, Nationwide offered a .02 percent fee for both the 457(b) and 401 plans, this being the lowest bid of them all, surpassing MissionSquare’s final bid of .07 percent. This fee is collected quarterly, according to Human Resources Department head Dawane Martinez.
In a subsequent interview with the News Review, Martinez explained other advantages of using Nationwide as, he said, it offers “a more robust investment lineup and a 60 percent investment cost savings to city employees. Additionally, Nationwide’s loan fees and other transaction fees are less expensive than MissionSquare.”
At the meeting, City Manager Josué Salmerón explained that Nationwide also offers attractive services, including technology assistance, a mobile app and data security.
Martinez and Salmerón said that the proposal of a shift to Nationwide received unanimous favorable support from current employees.
Retirees Di Quynn Reno and Celia Craze, both at the meeting and in separate interviews with the News Review, felt that the city was perhaps hasty in making this decision, as there didn’t seem to have been enough time for employees to properly consider the ramifications of the change and for MissionSquare to make an additional appeal to the city. Both have had a positive experience with MissionSquare.
Prevost understood the need for an informed decision, but stated that any more time spent on this decision could mean significant cost for employees and retirees. As the change will not take effect until August 5, Prevost, Martinez and Salmerón all felt that there was ample time to properly train participants on the new provider.
After a discussion on possibly waiting until the next meeting to vote, council largely felt that enough time and effort had gone into this to make a proper decision, citing the lack of any negative feedback from employees.
In later interviews, Mayor Emmett Jordan felt that the decision “was in the best interest of the city’s employees.” Councilmember Amy Knesel noted the “substantial fee reduction and access to an expanded investment portfolio through Nationwide.” Both emphasized the freedom for retirees to stay with MissionSquare, if they choose.
