COVID-19 Resources

At NAGDCA, we recognize that this is an incredibly difficult time for our members, both from a financial services perspective and as employers. We want you to know you are not alone. Across the country your friends and colleagues in NAGDCA are facing the same uncertainty and making similarly difficult decisions.  We are compiling your ideas, documents and resources on this webpage to provide our members with a one-stop source for information as the situation evolves. We encourage you to use the form below to submit additional resources or thoughts that you’d like to share with the NAGDCA community.

In addition to the resources below, NAGDCA recommends following the guidance of the Centers for Diseases Control and the World Health Organization.

Submit a COVID-19 Resource
CARES Act Analysis
PRRL CARES Act Study
401(a) CARES Act Analysis

The IRS has provided some clarifications about the CARES Act retirement plan provisions – CLICK HERE to access the coronavirus-related relief for retirement plans and IRAs questions and answers. 

NAGDCA Webinars

Investments and Communications in the Midst of COVID-19

Dr. David Kelly, Chief Global Strategist at J.P. Morgan, and Mr. Michael Knowling, Head of Client Relationships and Business Development at Prudential joined NAGDCA Executive Director Matt Petersen to discuss investments and communications during COVID-19 and answer questions directly from you – our members.

Cybersecurity Considerations for Plan Sponsors

Join DCIIA, NAGDCA and the SPARK Institute for an exclusive webinar. During the webinar the speakers address cybersecurity topics of interest to plan sponsors, including the impact of widespread remote working, how to avoid current threats, and practical ways to navigate this unfamiliar environment.

Legislative Update

Our panel shares an update on NAGDCA’s legislative priorities, highlights from the CARES and SECURE Act, implementation information and data from Nationwide, and the potential impact of the GASB Exposure Draft on 457(b) plans.

CARES Act Data

Impact of CARES Act Distribution Provisions on Public Sector DC Plans

In August, the Public Retirement Research Lab (PRRL) surveyed recordkeepers about public sector implementation and use of CARES Act loan and distribution provisions, as well as participant saving and investment behavior during the pandemic. Recordkeeper survey respondents represented approximately 75,000 public sector DC plans and more than 10,000,000 participants as of July 2020. Click below to download the key survey takeaways.
VIEW SURVEY TAKEAWAYS

Results from April 30th Legislative Update Webinar with responses from 47 plan sponsors. For more information regarding which provisions NAGDCA members are adopting, please visit the member forum discussion post here (available for members only).

A Note on Cyber Security

Many of you have recently begun to work remotely – some for the first time. Coordinating good cyber practices on your team will be a difficult, but essential task in this new environment. Recent estimates indicate that cyber-attacks are already up over 700% in the past week. You are more vulnerable working remotely, and cyber criminals know it.

NAGDCA encourages you to highlight cyber best practices with your team, follow them as closely as possible, and maintain contact with your recordkeeper to ensure everyone is on the same page.  If you are looking for external resources, the Department of Homeland Security also has excellent information here to help you stay up-to-date as this situation continues to rapidly evolve.

Feedback from Plan Sponsors

At the City of Los Angeles our plans are unfolding in real time and we are still in transition from assessing options to implementing solutions. Some of the items we’re considering or have implemented are:

  • Adapting our local participant engagement resources to interact by phone and electronically rather than in person
  • Developing new processes allowing us to share information between City staff and our local team electronically
  • Addressing the impacts of significant numbers of employees working from home
  • Suspending in-person group education and enrollment activities
  • Promoting personal communication between our participants and local staff as well as general guidance regarding ensuring one’s portfolio is in accordance with one’s risk tolerance
  • Exploring options for holding board and committee meetings electronically in compliance with State law relative to conduct of public meetings
  • Ensuring our service providers have business continuity plans in effect and are reacting fluidly to evolving circumstances

It’s a very fast-moving and evolving situation so each day brings new questions, challenges, and adjustments.

  1. Are you working remotely? What issues have you encountered? How are you handling cyber security? 
    We have updated business continuity plans and are expanding our work at home capabilities. In the worst case scenario, we will allow withdrawals in limited amounts with some reduction in our normal security measures. The most challenging issue is inability to process paper forms if we are unable to enter our office. We have also stopped walk-in participant traffic and asked that they call in.

  2. How are you communicating with your members? Have any messages been particularly effective? Can you share them?
    We will be including articles in the newsletter about investing in down markets. However, we did the same in 2008 and rational articles and even rational conversations with participants do not appear to be very effective when the participants are approaching it from a strictly emotional level. Most participant exchanges are moving from equities into our stable value fund essentially locking in their losses just as they did in 2008. Call volumes are up substantially.

  3. How are you handling governance and board issues? Are you cancelling meetings or delaying? What informs your thought process?
    We are relocating upcoming board meetings to a space that allows more “social distancing”.

  4. What questions are you asking your vendors?
    Most vendors have cancelled traveling and changed meetings to phone calls.

  1. Are you working remotely? What issues have you encountered? How are you handling cyber security? 
    The State of Nevada NDC Staff is absolutely working remotely from home as well as staggering processing and Customer Service staff. Additionally, we have mandated that all assigned and authorized representatives of our Contracted Recordkeeper cease all person-to-person meetings with participant and have encouraged the use of technology for customer service and servicing participants. We have executed an agency Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) which are happy to share. All of the Program’s established cyber security protocols are being maintained at this time and there have not been any issues that we have encountered in the execution of our Pandemic Plan.

  2. How are you communicating with your members? Have any messages been particularly effective? Can you share them?
    We have developed an extensive COVID-19 Communication Plan which was executed starting 03/20/2020. I have shared some of the custom communications we have or will be using. The messages have been super effective and has assisted with decreasing or maintaining our call volume.

  3. How are you handling governance and board issues? Are you cancelling meetings or delaying? What informs your thought process?
    We are holding telephonic, Zoom, Microsoft TEAMS, and Skype Committee and Board Public meetings. Our Governor made an emergency declaration temporarily amending our Nevada Open Meeting Law Statute which has afforded us the ability to continue fiduciary and administrative Plan Governance.

  4. What questions are you asking your vendors?
    Our Vendors have been fabulous. Our contracted Recordkeeper, Voya Financial, has been unbelievably responsive and proactive during this crisis.

Industry Resources

(Note: NAGDCA does not endorse or control the quality or accuracy of any of the information provided at the following sites. We will continue to add additional resources/site links as they are received.)

NAGDCA Industry Members are sharing guidance and resources on a number of topics related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Click below to view their resources and please share additional resources with us via the form below. 

Share Thoughts & Resources

COVID-19 Resource Submission Form

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