The Wyoming Retirement System (WRS) will be implementing an administrative fee holiday for participants in the WRS 457 Deferred Compensation Plan. WRS Plan administrative fees will be suspended beginning in 2022 for a period of one year

What does this mean?

All participants with account balances are currently charged an annual administrative fee of 0.20% (20 basis points).* The administrative fees collected from participant accounts are necessary to offset internal and external expenses associated with managing and operating the Plan as it relates to activities such as daily recordkeeping and administration, participant enrollment and education, and communication.

The administrative fee is charged quarterly, in arrears, and deducted from your account the month following the end of a calendar quarter. For example, fees for the first quarter (January through March) are charged in the month of April. See below for what this looks like on your statement when the fee is charged.

What activity took place this period?

 Expenses          
 Asset-Based Charge Oct 14, 2021 -32.85 LifePath Index 2050 L  -1.090 30.129
 Total Expenses   -32.85      
Expenses are calculated for an account balance of approximately $70,000.

From January 1 to December 31, 2022, you will no longer have the WRS Asset-based charge deducted from your accounts.

Do I need to do Anything?

As a participant, you do not need to do anything. WRS administrative fees will be automatically suspended beginning with the first quarter of 2022.

For the four quarters following December 31, 2021, you will not have the WRS asset-based fee charged or deducted from your accounts:

Are all fees waived?

No. You will continue to pay the investment management fees associated with the specific mix of investments you are holding in your accounts at any given time, as well as any other brokerage and transactional costs as laid out in the investment’s fund fact sheet. To find the fund fact sheets for your investments, visit wrsdcp.com > Investment Information, then click on Fund fact sheets.

Why is WRS implementing a fee holiday?

The WRS Board and 457 Committee meet periodically to review fees and administrative costs and determined the Plan has an operating surplus. At its November 2021 meeting, the Wyoming Retirement System Board, in coordination with staff and advisors, reviewed current fees and determined that a suspension of WRS’ administrative fees was the best solution for reducing the Plan’s current operating surplus.

Addendum to your First Quarter 2022 statement

As an additional note, Empower will be including the IOAG (investment options at a glance) document for your WRS account(s) as an addendum to your First Quarter 2022 statement.

For more information, or if you have questions call Empower at 800-701-8255.