Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

FINALIST

Cyrus Ben 
Tribal Chief

Location:

Choctaw, Mississippi 
Industry:

Government 
Plan(s) Offered:

401(k); nonqualified deferred compensation
Plan Assets:

$169.5M (total)
Number of Participants:

2,686 (total)
DC Plan Participation Rate:

55%
DC Plan Average Deferral Rate:

6%
Automatic Enrollment:

No
Automatic Escalation:

No
Default Deferral Rate for Auto-Enrollment:

N/A
Default Investment Fund:

Managed account 
DC Plan Employer Contribution:

Plan 1 –100% of 8%; Plans 2 and 3 – Discretionary match
Recordkeeper:

Principal Financial Group; third-party administrator, Orenda Retirement
Plan Adviser:

OneDigital 
Financial Wellness Educator(s):

Morningstar; Principal Financial Group; OneDigital

After an adviser-led evaluation, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians selected a new recordkeeper to better support participant education and the plan’s retirement readiness goals. The plan committee executed a full plan reset at the switch, notably making managed accounts the default investment, so all could have access to individualized advice. Over 90% of participants, representing nearly 70% of plan assets, adopted the managed account service; those participants now defer about 1% more than the rest defer. Key to the conversion was modernizing and automating administrative processes and adding a mobile app to improve participant engagement.

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