State Employee 457 Plan Auto Enrollment

Those employees of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the state of Wyoming hired or rehired on or after July 1, 2015, who are otherwise eligible, will be enrolled automatically in the 457 Plan, unless within 30 days of receiving the Automatic Enrollment Notice the employee:

  1. Actively enrolls by making his or her own elections in the 457 Plan, or
  2. Opts out of participation

Employees transferring between agencies will not be included in the automatic enrollment process unless they are terminated and given a new hire date that is on or after July 1, 2015. If an employee is hired with two agencies, the primary appointment is the only position in which the employee is eligible for benefits. Therefore, only the primary position will be auto enrolled.

At-will contract employees (AWEC) are not eligible for the 457 Plan per W. S. 9-3-501(a)(iii).

Local government employers participating in the 457 Plan may also elect automatic enrollment for their employees.

Auto Enrollment Benefits Employees

Automatic enrollment in the 457 Plan gives employees a head start on building personal assets for retirement. Since the deductions are automatic, the employee can save without thinking about it. The employee saves for retirement in a tax-advantaged vehicle and can always exercise his or her own choices over the established defaults. Savings build up through regular deferrals. There is the added advantage of the employer match of $20 per pay period for employees of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the state of Wyoming. 

How Auto Enrollment Works

  1. Employees will receive a notification letter with all the related information about automatic enrollment. This letter will be sent between 4 and 6 weeks after an employee’s information has been entered into the payroll system by the employing agency’s HR staff. Employees will have 30 calendar days from the date of this letter to opt out of the 457 Plan and have no contributions taken at all. If an employee wants to start contributions sooner than the opt-out period would allow, he or she can elect into the 457 Plan online or with an enrollment form.
  2. An employee not wanting to be in the 457 Plan can login into wrsdcp.com with the assigned PIN to opt out of the Plan or opt-out by calling the recorded phone line at 800-701-8255. There will be no “opt out” paper form.
  3. For those employees who do not opt-out, the first contribution going to the 457 Plan will be taken out of the first paycheck after the expiration of the 30-day opt-out period.
    The established defaults for automatic enrollment are provided in state law and the 457 Plan Document as follows:
    • contributions are taken from pre-tax dollars
    • contributions are invested in the Stable Value Fund during the 90 day permissible withdrawal period and then moved to the age-appropriate Target Date Fund based on an anticipated retirement age of 65
    • Default contribution rate of the greater of $20 or 3% of pre-tax gross pay
  4. For employees who may have overlooked opting out during the 30 day period, there is a provision to get a withdrawal for a short time. The provision is known as a permissible withdrawal. During the 90 calendar days after automatic contributions are first taken from an employee’s pay, the employee may request a permissible withdrawal by contacting WRS at 457pln@wyo.gov. It can take up to 30 days for the employee to receive the money and it will be reported as taxable income on a 1099-R form to the IRS. 

Online Enrollment and Deferral Changes 

Employees who want to be in the 457 Plan but want to make their own elections (change the defaults) can do so at any time online or by calling the recorded phone line at 800-701-8255. However, once an employee makes their own elections they will not be eligible for a permissible withdrawal.