St. Mary's County 457(b) plan posts asset gains, committee accepts 2025 summary and Q4 report

St. Mary’s County officials on Feb. 20 reviewed the 2025 performance of the county’s 457(b) plan, approving a plan summary presented by Voya and accepting a fourth-quarter report from Marquette & Associates.

Voya representative Sara Katala told the governance committee the plan began the year with roughly $23.7 million in assets, added about $2.1 million in payroll contributions and closed the year with a reported balance of $27.9 million; Katala said the plan’s close-of-business balance the night before the meeting was $29.2 million. "We started the beginning of the year with 23,700,000 in assets," Katala said, and attributed the growth to contributions and dividend income.

Katala reported 62 new enrollments in 2025 (a 10.7% increase year-over-year), 461 total participants and 331 active contributors over the most recent four-month window. On participant engagement, she said 76% of participants used Voya’s channels (call center, mobile app or website), while web registration rose to 84%. Katala highlighted fraud protections for registered accounts, saying, "In the event a participant incurs a loss, Voya will make them whole." She also described the managed-account program’s advisory and paid-management options and said staff will review small account balances in April to determine closures for balances under $7,000.

Committee members discussed retirement-readiness projections produced by the My Orange Money tool. Katala described tool behavior and data inputs, noting projections depend on whether participants enter outside retirement accounts and pension information: "It depends on whether or not they enter their information into the My Orange Money," she said.

Marquette & Associates associate Patrick Wingham presented contextual market commentary and manager-level results. He said U.S. equities were a strong contributor to 2025 returns and that target-date funds—which comprise the majority of plan assets—performed well in the fourth quarter. Wingham identified two managers placed on a watch list for underperformance and said Marquette will continue monitoring them with a possible recommendation for replacement if issues persist. He also reported a weighted average participant expense ratio of about 0.29%, versus an industry median near 0.50%.

Following the presentations and committee questions, the body moved and approved the plan summary covering 01/01/2025–12/31/2025 and later voted to accept Marquette’s fourth-quarter report. Acting plan administrator Tracy McPherson reported a Marquette invoice dated 01/01/2026 for $4,500 covering investment counseling services from October through December 2025; the committee moved and approved the administrator’s report, which included that bill.

No public comments were offered. The committee set a next meeting date of June 25 and adjourned by voice vote.

The committee’s next steps include Marquette’s continued monitoring of the two watch-list managers, a staff review of small participant account balances in April, and a future update on whether Secure 2.0 changes affect participant behavior.