2022
Nonprofit DC

CareerSource Central Florida

FINALIST
Orlando, Florida
Leonardo Alvarez
Chief Financial Officer
  • Plan
    403(b)
  • Total Plan Assets
    $9.5MM
  • Number of Participants
    220
  • Participation Rate
    93%
  • Average Deferral Rate
    6.8%
  • Default Deferral Rate
    4%
  • Default Investment
    American Century One Choice Target Date Funds
  • Automatic Enrollment
  • Automatic Escalation
  • Employer Contribution
    100% of 8%
  • Providers
    Recordkeeper: Principal Financial; Adviser: OneDigital Retirement + Wealth
  • Financial Wellness Educator
    OneDigital Retirement + Wealth


CareerSource Central Florida has an organizational mission focused on cultivating growth and prosperity in Central Florida. It also aims to help its own staff prosper, and now has a 100% match of up to 8% of pay for its 403(b) plan.

The Orlando-based nonprofit—which educates, trains and coordinates job placements for local, high-demand industries—moved to the new match formula in June 2021, up from 100% of 6%. “The contribution greatly helps us as far as retention and recruiting,” Vice President of Human Resources Dyana Burke says. “So many employers are offering not much of a retirement plan benefit. Our employees know that the organization is really investing in them.”

As the organization improved plan design in the past decade, participation in the 403(b) jumped from 27% in 2012 to 93% in 2022. Ten years ago, CareerSource had new leadership, and looked holistically at its benefits package over the next few years. In 2017, the organization hired as its plan adviser Chepenik Financial and its leader, Jason Chepenik. (Chepenik Financial has since been acquired by OneDigital Retirement + Wealth, and remains the plan’s adviser.)

CareerSource initially focused on increasing engagement through employee education done by Chepenik Financial, and 403(b) participation grew to 70%. “Then we thought, ‘We’re not happy with 70% participation: What else could we be doing?’” says Chief Financial Officer Leonardo Alvarez.

So in 2018, the plan began automatically enrolling new hires at a 4% deferral rate, with a 1% automatic increase up to a 6% ceiling. CareerSource also changed its employer contribution, eliminating a nonelective contribution. The plan previously had a 50% match of up to 6% of pay, plus a 3% nonelective contribution, and opted to simplify the employer contribution by moving to a dollar-for-dollar match up to 6% of pay. “We decided that we want to contribute to the plan with our staff, rather than some of our staff not having any skin in the game,” Alvarez says.

Within the past year, participation rose above 90%, and the average deferral rate exceeded the plan sponsor’s then-goal of 6%. “So the question turned into, ‘What should we do to improve the plan even more?’” Alvarez says.

The plan’s leadership has upped its specific goals for how it defines success: not just 90% or higher participation, but also participants deferring an average of 10%, and participants being on track to replace at least 80% of their income in retirement. “We asked ourselves, ‘How do we get the plan to continue moving in that direction?’” Alvarez says. “The idea was, if we want to increase the average contribution beyond 6%, we should be contributing more than 6% as well.”

So the plan moved to the 100% of up to 8% match, and nearly 50% of participants now contribute enough to maximize the match. Alvarez hopes the plan will move to a dollar-for-dollar match up to 10% in the next year or two, once average deferrals reach 8%. “We want to get to 10%, but an increase of our contribution to 10% at one time was too much for us to absorb financially,” he says. “So we’re stair-stepping it.”

Judy Ward

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