On Retirement

A History of Building Retirement Security in the Public Sector

It’s our birthday! And we are extremely proud and excited to be celebrating 35 years of building retirement security for public sector employees.

Today, the retirement planning industry is booming with many companies that, along with us, offer retirement savings plans to millions of employees across the nation. In 1972, the situation was different.

At that time, a group of ICMA leaders recognized that many of their members were retiring without the financial resources they needed after they left public management service. Because the members often changed employers several times during their careers, these dedicated professionals were unable to put together a sufficient number of years under a single employer to qualify for a pension through defined benefit programs.

In many cases, managers, after long and successful careers, stepped into retirement with limited benefits. It was then that ICMA decided to change the rules. With a grant from the Ford Foundation, ICMA created ICMA Retirement Corporation and the future of retirement saving in the public sector changed forever. Today, ICMA-RC has grown to more than 700,000 participants in 7,000 plans, from just a single participant in a single plan. As of March 2007, ICMA-RC manages and administers more than $28 billion in retirement savings assets.

In the 35 years of ICMA-RC’s service to the public sector, our mission has been to help our participants build retirement security and to simplify retirement plan administration and education for employers. As the only
financial services corporation created by the public sector for the public sector, we take pride in our mission and our values of independence, integrity, and excellence.

Our mission and values have been demonstrated in many ways over our history.

We continue to remain open to any public sector employer, regardless of the number of employees or the size of its plan.

Year after year, we strive to make improvements in the way we communicate with participants and plan sponsors. In the past three years, we’ve won the Dalbar Seal of Excellence for our participant statements, Web site, and participant voice response system.

When far-reaching pension reform legislation was adopted on Capitol Hill in 2001, ICMA-RC worked to ensure that provisions benefiting public sector retirement savings plans were included in the measure, including portability of 457 assets into IRAs and parity of contribution rates with the private sector. Last year, ICMA-RC continued our participation with public sector leaders to make permanent the gains that were attained in the 2001 legislation with the passage of the Pension Protection Act in 2006.

And, last fall, ICMA-RC was a leader in establishing the National Save for Retirement Week, the first nationally endorsed program to promote retirement savings. Our efforts to support employers across the country have given momentum to this important initiative to make retirement savings a priority in the public sector.

It is a privilege to lead this corporation, now in its 35th year. And, we at ICMA-RC have every expectation that we will be leading the way to building retirement security for state and local workers for a long time to come.

—Joan McCallen
President and CEO
ICMA-RC
Washington, D.C.
www.icmarc.org

This article is intended for educational purposes only and is not to be construed or relied upon as investment advice. The ICMA Retirement Corporation does not offer specific tax or legal advice and shall not have any liability for any consequences that arise from reliance on this material. It is recommended that you consult with your personal financial adviser prior to implementing any new tax or retirement strategy. Vantagepoint securities are sold by prospectus only, and the prospectus should be consulted before investing any money. Vantagepoint securities are distributed by ICMA RC Services, LLC, a broker dealer affiliate of ICMA-RC, member NASD/SIPC. ICMA Retirement Corporation, 777 North Capitol Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002-4240; 1-800/669-7400; www.icmarc.org. AC: 1205-406.

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