PLANADVISER - July/August 2020 - 24

research / 2020 PLANADVISER Recordkeeper Services Survey
457 Plans
ALTHOUGH 457 plans operate similarly to more traditional defined contribution
(DC) plans, they are also thought to be less accessible and more complex. Governmental
457(b) plans, which can resemble 401(k)s, are the largest subset of these
plans and cover around 7 million state and local government employees, while
nongovernmental 457 plans cover only 250,000 participants who must be highly
compensated employees (HCEs). In both cases, the 457 plan is often supplementary
to other retirement plan offerings-i.e., pensions or other eligible DC plans.
On the surface, 457s may be less successful than other DC plans at capturing
participant savings, as the $51,520 average account balance is roughly 35% lower
than the average saved in 401(k) plans-$79,720. However, such measures fail to
account for participant savings in other accessible retirement plans and the limitations
many public sector 457 plans face in offering features such as automatic
enrollment and automatic escalation.
The specialized rules governing 457 plans mean providers can differentiate
themselves based on the quality of participant servicing strategies, including
successful enrollment materials, effective communication/education campaigns
and financial wellness programs capable of guiding participants to improved
outcomes. Retiree services can also be important, given some public sector
employees are ineligible for Social Security. -BOK
Growth in Total 457 Plan Assets ($mm)
$421,847
$370,544
$292,755
$321,467
$380,733
Top 10, by Total 457 Plan Assets ($mm)
1 Voya Financial
2 Nationwide
3 Empower Retirement
4 ICMA-RC
5 Fidelity Investments
6 Prudential Retirement
7 MassMutual
8 T. Rowe Price
9 AIG Retirement Services
10 TIAA
$102,457
$90,340
$76,069
$40,901
$22,882
$22,681
$13,979
$10,177
$9,391
$9,306
Top 10, by Governmental 457(b) Plans
1 Nationwide
2 Voya Financial
3 ICMA-RC
4 Equitable
5 AIG Retirement Services
6 MassMutual
7 Empower Retirement
8 OneAmerica
2016
2017
2018
2019
Total Governmental 457 Assets ($mm), Plans and Participants

Total assets
$368,138
Plan Size
<$25mm
$25mm - $100mm
>$100mm - $500mm
>$500mm

Total plans
29,060
Assets ($mm)*
$46,290
$36,136
$58,916
$226,796
Plans*
27,849
831
289
91

Total participants
6,891,773
Participants*
1,418,574
627,485
1,501,844
3,343,870
2020
9 Lincoln Financial Group
10 PCS Retirement, LLC
7,218
5,263
4,693
2,450
1,972
1,533
1,111
955
916
770
Top 10, by Nongovernmental 457 Plans
1 AIG Retirement Services
2 TIAA
3 CUNA Mutual Retirement Solutions
4 Principal Financial Group
5 Lincoln Financial Group
6 Fidelity Investments
7 Voya Financial
8 MassMutual
9 Empower Retirement
10 Transamerica
*Not all providers report complete data; therefore, data segmented by plan size will not equal the corresponding overall total.
2,382
1,329
879
808
596
416
391
380
310
232
24 | planadviser.com July-August 2020
http://www.planadviser.com
PLANADVISER - July/August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANADVISER - July/August 2020
