North Carolina State Employees’ Credit Union

Timothy Byrd (left), Rebecca Moore (middle), Sara Trexler (right); Photo by Matt Kalinowski

All retirement plans help employees save for retirement. But at the North Carolina State Employees’ Credit Union, the goal is to provide participants with both adequate savings and financial advice to increase the likelihood of retirement financial success. NCSECU was founded in 1937, with 17 members and $437 in assets; it has since grown to $50 billion in assets and serves over 2.7 million members from 270 locations, including its Raleigh headquarters, throughout North Carolina.

The institution offers a 401(k) plan for all its employees, plus a 457(b) deferred compensation plan for highly compensated staff. The combined plans held roughly $1.3 billion in assets for the 10,002 participants as of year-end 2023. The 401(k) has a 98% participation rate, not surprising given the match structure.

“The organization offers an incredibly generous match on contributions—200% of up to 5%, for a total of 10% if a participant contributes 5%. This is coupled with an automatic enrollment and automatic escalation program,” says Abigail Russell, senior vice president with its adviser CAPTRUST.

While NCSECU is generous with the participant match, the plan’s managing committee maintains its focus on controlling costs. In the past year, the committee approved exchanging two of the plan’s core investments, to improve performance and reduce fees. “Also, after performing due diligence, we were able to negotiate the annual account fee down from $52 to $35,” says Tim Byrd, vice president, retirement benefits and education with the credit union.

So participants would be better supplied with financial advice and education, the sponsor built a human resources team that has multiple professional personal finance and plan-related certifications. “I truly think that’s what separates and differentiates us from most employer-sponsored administrators,” Byrd says.

The organization develops its financial education materials and presentations internally, plus uses resources from its recordkeeper, Fidelity Investments. New hires attend a live 401(k) presentation. Byrd’s department also created a seminar series that provides further 401(k) plan information.

For pre-retirees, retirement readiness seminars cover multiple topics. And retiring participants receive a $12,500 life insurance policy and access to health insurance, partially subsidized.

To stop retirees from prematurely depleting their savings through overambitious regular withdrawals, NCSECU signed up for Fidelity’s new withdrawal options: a fixed percentage of the participant’s balance, a fixed period for distributing the balance and a required minimum distribution option based on a life expectancy table.

“Immediately the retirement plan committee saw that as an opportunity and we adopted those,” Byrd says. “Now there are four different types of systematic withdrawals that are good foundational basics that could benefit many participants.”

—Ed McCarthy