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JEFFREY R. SMITH, CPA, CGFO, CGMA <br />Clerk of Circuit Court & Comptroller <br />Finance Department <br />180127 1h Street <br />Vero Beach, FL 32960 <br />Telephone: (772) 226-1945 <br />TO: Board of County Commissioners <br />FROM: Diane Bernardo, Finance Director <br />THRU: , Jeffrey R. Smith, Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller <br />DATE: May 2, 2017 <br />SUBJECT: Consolidation of Deferred Compensation Plans <br />BACKGROUND <br />Over the past few years, the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and the National <br />Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA) have been addressing the <br />fiduciary responsibility for governments to develop policies and procedures to review deferred <br />compensation plans. The Board of County Commissioners and each constitutional officer is a fiduciary <br />and is expected to act in the best interest of plan participants (employees and retirees). These duties <br />include selecting and monitoring deferred compensation providers, investments, and all associated <br />expenses. <br />The Clerk's office hired a consultant, AndCo, on September 26, 2016 to assist in developing procedures <br />to meet our fiduciary duty. One of the suggestions from our consultant was to consolidate all plans <br />(currently ICMA-RC, Nationwide and Florida League of Cities) to one deferred compensation provider <br />and ask if the Board and each constitutional officer would like to participate in the consolidation. <br />Consolidation to a single provider would: <br />• take advantage of the economies of scale to reduce record keeping fees <br />• utilize best practices for fee transparency and equalization <br />• simplify investment lineup using open architecture and lowest net expense investment classes <br />• offer unified, comprehensive education and communication education program across the <br />County <br />• streamline plan administration for County staff. <br />A general meeting was held on October 26, 2016 and attended by staff of the Board and each <br />constitutional officer (this group formed the RFP committee). <br />During the October 26th meeting, parties agreed that a way to meet our fiduciary responsibility was to <br />prepare a competitive request for proposal (RFP). The RFP outlined our goals of. <br />• Lowering participant expenses <br />• Enhancing the participant experience by providing participant education programs and easily <br />accessible website and call center <br />• Simplifying and consolidating the investment fund selection (funds will be selected by the <br />committee after a contract has been negotiated with the plan sponsor) <br />P53 <br />