Monroe County, NY Named Plan Sponsor of the Year Finalist

April 18, 2008

Monroe County, NY was chosen as a Plan Sponsor of the Year Finalist by PLANSPONSOR, a communications organization focused on pension and retirement plan issues.

The Plan Sponsor of the Year award acknowledges employers that show leadership in helping their employees prepare for a secure retirement. Monroe County, a finalist in the public sector 457 plan category, administers $150 million in an ICMA-RC 457 plan. More than 80 percent of eligible employees participate in the plan, saving an average of 12.4 percent of their earnings each year.

Monroe County plan administrators actively promote the plan to employees through education seminars and awareness efforts like posters, e-mails and voicemails, particularly during National Save for Retirement Week. Monroe County Human Resources Director Brayton Connard explained the county’s winning strategy in a Plan Sponsor article featuring the county and its 457 plan program.

“We have a philosophy that says we have an obligation to educate our participants that Social Security alone might not be enough for them to live the kind of retirement they’d like to,” he said.

Monroe County is a great example of how education and awareness efforts can help ICMA-RC plan participants save and build financial security for retirement. Read more about the county's efforts here.