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Deferred Compensation Plan

 

If you are a benefits-eligible employee, you can choose to participate in King County’s 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan to assist in your long-term retirement planning. You can elect either pre-tax or after-tax (ROTH) contributions in an array of investment choices from T. Rowe Price.

You decide how much to defer through payroll deduction—up to the specified IRS contribution limits:

  • 2024: $23,000 per year ($30,500 if you’re 50 or older).

Read Deferred Compensation Plan Highlights for a plan overview

Find plan details on the Deferred Compensation Plan Document

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Plan details, tools, and resources

Visit T. Rowe Price or call 888-457-5770 for more information about the King County retirement plan.

How does it work?

Deferred compensation is a voluntary, non-qualified program under IRC 457 designed for employees to save for retirement on a tax-favored (tax-deferred) basis. It works by payroll deduction only.

Enrollment and salary deferral changes submitted are processed on a bi-weekly schedule. It may take 1-2 pay cycles for the deduction to start.

Who is eligible to participate?

Any employee who receives health benefits from King County.

Visit T. Rowe Price for more information

What are the maximum and the minimum deferral amounts?

For 2024, participants under 50 years old can contribute up to the IRS salary deferral limit of $23,000 per year. If you are age 50 or over any time in 2024, your maximum is $30,500. The minimum amount is $30 or 1% per pay period.

What are the fees?

The recordkeeping and administrative fee is $16.50 per quarter. Investment management fees vary by the investment fund and are detailed in the prospectus for each fund. Fees are reviewed on an annual basis and are subject to change. If you have further questions regarding fees, please contact the Plan Administrator at 206-263-9250.

Deferred compensation resources

Rollover previous or King County retirement plan funds

Rollover or access King County retirement funds after you leave King County

Your funds are available to you upon separation from employment, or you can leave them in the plan to earn tax-free until a later date. Payouts are taxed as ordinary income, unless they are rolled over to another eligible retirement plan, either an IRA or a new employer's plan. You must first check with the new employer's plan to see if it will accept your rollover.

Is there a penalty for early withdrawal?

If you rollover from King County's plan to a plan that is not a governmental 457 plan, that amount will be subject to the 10% early withdrawal penalty when withdrawn from the new plan. All distributions are subject to the 20% tax withholding rules if not directly rolled over.

Rollover funds from other retirement plans into King County’s plan

You are permitted to roll over most traditional individual retirement account (IRA) balances into your King County Employees Deferred Compensation Plan. In addition, you can roll over your vested account balance from an earlier defined contribution employer plan (regardless of whether it was a governmental 457, 401(k), or a 403 (b) plan) into your King County Employees Deferred Compensation Plan. Early withdrawal penalties will continue to apply to funds that are not rolled over from governmental 457 plans.

King County Deferred Compensation Board

Mission Statement (approved December 9th, 2020)

The mission of the King County Employees Deferred Compensation Plan Board is to provide tax savings and investment options, as well as financial planning tools, for past, current and future King County employees to help them build wealth for a more secure retirement. The Board is dedicated to making King County employees aware of the Plan’s benefits and expanding the reach of the Plan as a tool to achieve racial equity in building wealth and achieving financial wellness for all current and potential Plan participants.

King County Employees Deferred Compensation Plan Board Racial Equity Commitment Statement

Definition of Racial Equity

The Board defines racial equity as both an outcome and a process. As an outcome, we achieve racial equity when race no longer determines one’s socioeconomic outcomes. As a process, we apply racial equity when those most impacted by structural racism are meaningfully involved in the consideration, decisions and implementation of the institutional policies and practices that impact their lives.

Achieving our Mission

We recognize that structural racism has led to deep and pervasive racial inequities in achieving financial wellness. In alignment with the King County Equity & Social Justice Strategic Plan, the Board will lead with a racial equity lens in order to create equity for all. We commit to expanding the reach of the Deferred Compensation Plan (“the Plan”) as a tool to achieve racial equity in building wealth and achieving financial wellness for all current and potential Plan participants. With this racial equity commitment statement, the Board will continue its efforts to achieve the following goals.

Long-Term Racial Equity Goals

  • Deepen our commitment to racial equity and be inclusive and equitable in our decision making by considering a multitude of perspectives and experiences.
  • Create a culture of racial equity that can be integrated into our work with current and potential Plan participants, advisors, staff, third party administrator and other vendors.
  • Assess and transform policies, practices, and processes to achieve racial equity.
  • Achieve racial equity in financial wellness with respect to accessing tools for retirement savings and building wealth.

Agendas and Minutes

A board of current and retired King County employee representatives oversees the plan with the assistance of an independent financial consultant. The King County Employees Deferred Compensation Board meets on the second Wednesday of the month and all employees and participants are welcome.

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