Several years ago, very little attention was paid to retirement plans by the media and state and federal legislators. Today, this has changed and a great deal of focus is placed on both the employees’ rights in regard to their employer sponsored retirement plan, and the employer’s fiduciary responsibility to protect the employees’ benefits.

Public employers in Ohio are obligated by state law to make the Ohio Public Employees Deferred Compensation Program (OPEDCP) available to all interested employees, and to support education and promote awareness efforts of the program. Some employers offer other 457 plans as well. As the plan sponsor of each 457 plan that you offer your employees, you assume certain fiduciary responsibilities.

The good news is the OPEDCP is here to help you. We already ensure many of these fiduciary responsibilities are taken care of, but we need your cooperation. On the back of this sheet, we have included a partial fiduciary checklist for your review. Please consult this list to see how we are helping you and to see if you are taking your necessary steps as a fiduciary.

As your partner in offering a high quality deferred compensation program, the OPEDCP needs your assistance to provide employees with the education necessary to make appropriate decisions regarding their financial future. Many employees have told us through surveys and focus groups they believe the best opportunities to learn about deferred compensation is through employee orientation and scheduled worksite visits from our field Account Executives. You can help your employees and meet many of your fiduciary responsibilities by providing access to the educational opportunities we offer.

The OPEDCP encourages you, the employer, to take advantage of the services offered by our Account Executives. Please contact your local field representative or call (877) 644-6457 to schedule an appointment today.