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Enhancements to the County of Monterey 457 Deferred Compensation
Plan
Six new funds
Self-Directed Brokerage Account (SDBA)
Online Enrollment and Deferral Processing
NEW FUNDS
As part of the ongoing maintenance for the Monterey County
Deferred Compensation plan, funds are added and funds are deleted. This is done
for two primary reasons. Funds that do not meet the plans investment policy
performance benchmarks are replaced. New funds are added to fill “gaps” in the
available core investment options.
Two funds are being added as replacements for the two funds
being eliminated from the plan. The Columbia Marsico 21st Century Z will be
the replacement for the American Century Ultra Fund and the Fidelity Advisor
Leveraged Company Stock A will be the replacement fund for the Ariel
Appreciation Fund.
To fill some gaps the plan is adding the T. Rowe Price Real
Estate Fund, which as its name suggests will give plan participants a core
investment option that invests in Real Estate. The plan is also adding three new
Index Options to supplement the current BGI S & P 500 Index. The new Index Funds
will be:
BGI EAFE Index which attempts to replicate the return
of the EAFE international index.
BGI Small-Cap Index which attempts to replicate the
Russell 2000 Index
BGI Mid-Cap Index which attempts to replicate the S & P
400 Mid-Cap Index
SELF DIRECTED BROKERAGE ACCOUNT (SDBA)
A new Self Directed Brokerage Account (SDBA) is being
added to the plan. The SDBA is managed by Ameritrade Corporate Services.
This new option will make more than 11,000 new mutual funds available to
plan participants through the SDBA window. Plan participants will also be
able to purchase individual stocks and bonds as well as investment options
in the plan. All funds will first be directed to the core investment options
and then once a participant has set up an account with Ameritrade, money can
be moved into Ameritrade. Ameritrade can be reached at (866) 766-4015 or
www.ameritradretirement.com. The minimum
transfer is $1,000 and a minimum balance of at least $2,500 must be kept in
the core options at all times.
(The SDBA does have additional fees and other
requirements and restrictions. Information regarding the specifics of the SDBA
account will be available on the Great-West website in the next few weeks. )
ONLINE ENROLLMENT & DEFERRAL PROCESSING
The online enrollment feature allows employees, (who are not
currently taking advantage of the features and benefits of Deferred
Compensation) to enroll very simply. Employees will obtain a PIN number from the
Great-West customer service line at (800) 701-8255 (if they do not already have
one) and log on to the Great-West website. Most of the information necessary
will have been previously entered so new participants will only need to select a
bi-weekly contribution amount, select which investment options they want their
contributions to be deposited into, and complete a hard copy of the Beneficiary
and Disclaimer Forms which are located on the Monterey County website at http://www.co.monterey/personnel/DefComp.htm.
Once the forms are completed, employees are to forward the forms to the County’s
Risk Management Department for processing.
The new online Salary Deferral processing system will
eliminate the need for any plan participant to complete a hard copy of the
salary deferral form. To make a change in the bi-weekly contribution amount, a
participant will need to either make the change by going to the Great-West
website or call the Great-West customer service number. All changes made by the
25th of the month will be effective for the first pay period of the following
month.
CHANGE IMPLEMENTATION DATES
New funds will be added to the plan on June 29, 2007
Funds being eliminated from the plan will occur on June
13, 2007
The SDBA account will be available for use on
approximately May 15, 2007
Online Enrollment and Deferral is scheduled to go live
June 1, 2007
We hope you are as thrilled with these plan enhancements, as
the Deferred Compensation Committee is to have the opportunity to make them
available to you. If you have questions about these new features please feel
free to contact either our local service representative Ed Lopez or the local
Great-West Retirement Services office. Ed can be reached at either (831)
682-0014 or
Edward.lopez@gwrs.com. The number for the
local Great-West office is (800) 274-8491.
Sincerely,
Lou Solton, Chair
County of Monterey Deferred Compensation Committee
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