The United States Conference of Mayors(SM) Presents Inaugural Retirement Readiness Award to the City of St. Louis

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Apr 10, 2014, 01:29 ET

ST. LOUIS, April 10, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) and Great West jointly recognized Mayor Francis Slay and the City of St. Louis today at a local awards ceremony honoring the City for offering and participating in a retirement program, which implements positive changes to assist employees in achieving retirement readiness.

The "USCM Leadership Award: Leading the Climb to a Bright Financial Future," which recognizes the city's outstanding excellence through education, due diligence, and participation in its supplemental retirement program, was first presented to Mayor Francis Slay and the City of St. Louis during the USCM Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C.

With a focus on improving the retirement readiness and financial literacy of public employees across America, the USCM created the leadership award with Great West to recognize cities that are implementing important and necessary changes to their retirement programs to achieve more secure retirement outcomes for our Nation's municipal employees.

Mayor Slay accepted the award on behalf of the City of St. Louis and said, "Our responsibilities as a Mayor include making sure we look after and take care of our employees, giving them the best opportunity in their jobs, and helping them with retirement readiness."

Slay said, "I have been thrilled with our relationship with Great-West Financial. It's a great plan, and it's a great organization. They are a new partner of the Conference of Mayors and I'm saying this unsolicited, if you don't have a 457(b) plan or a similar deferred compensation plan in your city, you ought to take a look at one and certainly take a look at Great-West Financial."

According to Tom Cochran, USCM CEO and Executive Director, "Over the last year, the retirement program has focused not only on providing excellent retirement solutions, but on educating cities about meeting their fiduciary responsibilities. The City of St. Louis is the perfect example of leading the way."

In January of 2013, The City of St. Louis implemented a number of significant enhancements to their Deferred Compensation program including:

Adding Target Date Funds (TDF) and Advisory Services – 22% of the City of St. Louis employees have 100% of their account balance in either TDFs or Managed Accounts – improving diversification.
Taking advantage of the new Roth 457(b) option – The Roth option allows participants to contribute to their Plan on an after tax basis. This provides participants with a possible solution to balance the taxes they may pay on their retirement income.
Establishing a new, more conveniently located walk-in plan service center – Participants can call or stop in the service center for assistance on all aspects of their Plan (administration, education about fund choices, training on website and tools, etc.).
Reducing the fees participants pay by more than 16% – That is additional money that will stay in participant's hands, allowing them to live the retirement that they have always imagined.

"Great-West Financial is proud to partner with the city, and we are committed to helping their employees reach a bright tomorrow where retirement is only the beginning," said Connie Rettig, Client Relationship Director at Great-West Financial,^® as she honored Mayor Slay and the City of St. Louis.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are nearly 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.

Great-West Financial^® refers to products and services provided by Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company (GWL&A), Corporate Headquarters: Greenwood Village, CO, its subsidiaries and affiliates. The U.S. Conference of Mayors is not affiliated with any Great-West Financial Company. The trademarks, logos, and registered marks used are owned by GWL&A.

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SOURCE The U.S. Conference of Mayors