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Dear NAGDCA friends, We had a great 29th NAGDCA Annual Conference! The speakers, sessions, events, facilities - and Baltimore itself - were all top-notch! Please read the "Top Story" in this newsletter highlighting the conference, and take a look at the great conference photos that have been posted on the website. I am delighted that our total conference attendance was 800. 58 speakers presented 19 topics in 29 sessions. Continuing education credits were offered for the third year. There were 47 leadership recognition awards representing the best practices in the administration of 457, 401(a) and 403(b) plans. And, 39 people participated in the future of our plans - the student mentoring program, representing five universities. In addition, we had a unique first time event - the community outreach event sponsored by Nationwide Retirement Solutions. I think everyone participating in the event thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to give something back to the community, and to connect with the people of Baltimore. I also want to thank everyone who donated to the Caple Foundation, and allowed us to make full use of the matching donations offered by AIG Retirement, Great-West, ICMA-RC, ING, Nationwide, Prudential, the Segal Company/Segal Advisors, and TIAA-CREF. Thanks to you all! Please take the opportunity to support the Caple Foundation, by visiting https://www.amrms.com/ssl/anc/donate/index.cfm. Welcome to our new Executive Board members - Tom Mueller, Sanitation Districts of L.A. County, was elected member-at-large just prior to the Annual Conference. Janet Kendall of ING is the new Industry President. In addition, the Executive Board unanimously appointed Julia Durand of CalSTRS to fill the remaining year of the vacant member-at-large position. Julia received the second-highest vote in the recent member-at-large election. It's great to see that service on NAGDCA committees and the Board are attracting members who are committed to advancing the interests of defined contribution plans. And, to top everything off, the National Save for Retirement Week (NS4RW) resolution was passed in the Senate just after the Annual Conference, joining the companion House Resolution passed in June. A nationally recognized Save for Retirement Week has proven to be a great tool in highlighting the awareness and importance of saving, and provides a particularly valuable opportunity to address some of the economic concerns many of our participants have. For more information on NS4RW, which is October 19-25, 2008, please visit http://www.nagdca.org/retirementWeek/, where you will find brochures, games and ideas to promote your plans. I also want to take the opportunity to note another great resource, the National Financial Education Network database, http://www.flecnationalnetwork.org. Your NAGDCA website id/password can be used to log in, access, and load materials to the database. I encourage all of you to submit your financial literacy materials to be shared among peers and colleagues. To summarize other recent events as well as what is coming up in the near future, we have released our latest NAGDCA Note entitled, "Target Date Funds: Does It Hit a Bull's-Eye Within Your Plan?" NAGDCA's third brochure for 2008, "Limits and Coordination of Retirement Savings Plans," is now also available online. NAGDCA has also posted the results of the recent "NAGDCA 2008 Survey of Defined Contribution Plans II." This is in addition to Part I, which was released earlier this year. NAGDCA will be doing a fourth webcast for 2008 on the Pension Protection Act, regarding Target Date Funds. This webcast will be scheduled for the end of November or the first part of December. And, the NAGDCA website will have a fresh, new look by the end of the year. Several website enhancements are planned over the next few months, the first of which is a redesign of the homepage. In the meantime, continue to check out what's going on at www.nagdca.org. I am very honored that you have given me the opportunity to serve as the NAGDCA president throughout the coming year, and I look forward to working with your Executive Board on our issues. Together, we will continue working to help our participants obtain financial security for their retirement. Let's remember our Mission Statement: NAGDCA's mission is to unite representatives from state and local governments along with private sector organizations that service and support defined contribution plans. NAGDCA provides an environment to foster growth in professional development of its members through networking with peers, educational opportunities and information sharing that includes comprehensive publications, reports and surveys. NAGDCA will promote and support federal legislative initiatives for the advancement of retirement plans. |
