Corporate MovesSeptember 27, 2019

National Defined Contribution Group Announces New Leadership

CalSTRS Director of Retirement Readiness Sandy Blair joins as the organization’s new president.

Reported by Steffan Navedo-Perez

The National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA) announced that Sandy Blair, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System’s (CalSTRS) director of retirement readiness, has been selected as its new board president.

The NAGDCA strives to improve the performance of their members to produce more stable retirements for public employees. Members are primarily public sector defined contribution plans.

The NAGDCA prioritizes sharing best practices for data-driven research, building relationships in the retirement community, and representing the retirement community’ interests in federal legislative matters.

“Defined contribution plans are a crucial part of retirement security in the public sector, and as president, I will focus on being a relentless advocate for the ongoing success of this community,” Blair said in a statement. She was promoted to her current role after serving for three years as the director of the CalSTRS Defined Contribution Solutions unit.

Blair joins the team amongst a host of new selections for the organization’s board for NAGDCA’s 2019-2020 session, including:

Vice President – Josh Luskin, Indiana Public Retirement Systems
Secretary/Treasurer – Rob Boehmer, State of Nevada
Member-at-Large – Darlene Malaney, Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller
Member-at-Large – Kelly Hiers, Virginia Retirement System
Past President – Cindy Rehmeier, Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System
Industry President – Ketul Thaker, Voya Financial
Industry Observer – Jake O’Shaughnessy, SageView Advisory Group

NAGDCA earlier this year announced the Retirement Security and Savings Act of 2019, which included a number of provisions that represent a variety of the organization’s legislative priorities, such as enabling the use of collective investment trusts by 403(b) plans and eliminating the “first day of the month rule for 457(b) plans.”

The NAGDCA was founded in 1980, and “has grown to be the premier organization representing governmental defined contribution plans,” according to a statement on its website.