MetroMax 457 Deferred Compensation Plan

Metro Nashville understands how important it is to help you save for your retirement. To help you achieve your financial and retirement goals, you are eligible to enroll in the 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan (called “MetroMax”). You are not required to participate in or contribute to the MetroMax Plan. Enrolling will make it easier for you to access the Plan's resources, though, and start saving for your future.

Read the MetroMax Plan Overview to learn about the benefits of participating and how to contact your local office. This website will also provide you with comprehensive MetroxMax information and educational materials to help you invest and plan for retirement.

Please call Voya at (800) 584-6001 if you have any questions. Customer Service Associates are available weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. CT, excluding stock market holidays.

Overview

Investing for retirement requires a good plan and the discipline to follow it.  The financial choices you make today can determine the quality of your retirement tomorrow. With MetroMax, you postpone receiving (defer) a portion of your salary for retirement. That means:

  • You decide, within certain legal limits, how much of your income you want to defer.
  • Metro will reduce your paycheck by that amount, before income tax, and forward it to Voya on a regular basis.
  • Your contributions are allocated to the investment options you have selected.

The contributions and earnings, if any, that accumulate are not taxed until you receive them. This could be in retirement when you may be in a lower tax bracket.

Eligibility

Any employee, officer, or elected or appointed official of Metro with at least 20 hours of work per week (except for contract workers for the Metropolitan Board of Education, the Transit Authority, Nashville Electric Service, and the Metropolitan Development and Housing Authority) is eligible to participate in MetroMax.

Contributions

Contributions under the Plan are voluntarily made by participants through a reduction in salary*. Under the Plan, the maximum annual contribution amount is set by IRS guidelines on a yearly basis. View the current contribution limits.

*Refers to compensation received for services performed for Metro Nashville & Davidson County that is includible in gross income for that year. 

Includible compensation includes:

  • Deferrals to a 457(b), 403(b), 401(k) or SEP plan.
  • Pre-tax contributions to a section 125 cafeteria plan.
  • Pre-tax contributions with respect to Section 132(f)(4) – Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits.

Includible compensation excludes 414(h) pick-up contributions.

A higher contribution limit is available to participants aged 50-59 and 64 years or older. Participants aged 60-63 by the end of the current calendar year have the option to save even more for retirement through catch-up contributions. Finally, participants eligible for the 457(b) special election catch-up may also contribute more during the three consecutive years prior to attaining their normal retirement age. A participant cannot use both the 457(b) special election catch-up provision and an age-based catch-up provision during the same year. They must choose whichever is greater. Please call Voya’s Nashville office or one of our local financial professionals for assistance in determining your annual contribution limit.

Distributions

Distributions are allowed only upon:

  • Separation from service (or retirement)
  • Attainment of age 70
  • Death
  • An unforeseeable emergency

IRC Section 457(b) defines an unforeseeable emergency as a severe financial hardship to the participant or the participant’s beneficiary (collectively referred to as the “account holder”) resulting from:

  • An illness or accident involving you, your beneficiary, the spouse of you or your beneficiary or a dependent (as defined by the IRS) of you or your beneficiary.
  • The loss of your or your beneficiary’s property due to casualty (including the need to rebuild a home following damage to a home not otherwise covered by homeowner’s insurance, such as a result of a natural disaster).
  • Other similar extraordinary and unforeseeable circumstances arising as a result of events beyond your or your beneficiary’s control.

Even if the account holder meets the above requirements, this does not mean that they will be able to withdraw funds from the Plan. Withdrawals are permitted only to the extent the hardship cannot be relieved through reimbursement or compensation by insurance or otherwise, by liquidating your assets (to the extent this would not itself cause severe financial hardship), or by stopping deferrals under the Plan. Also, participants will not be allowed to request an unforeseeable emergency once a distribution has begun.

Situations that may constitute unforeseeable circumstances include:

  • The imminent foreclosure of or eviction from the participant’s or beneficiary’s primary residence.
  • The need to pay for medical expenses, including non-refundable deductibles, as well as the cost of prescription drug medication.
  • The need to pay for the funeral expenses of a spouse or dependent (as defined by the IRS).

Only the amount reasonably necessary to meet the emergency need is available for withdrawal.

What are the options for payment of my benefits under the Plan?

When you are eligible to receive a distribution, MetroMax will provide you with a wide variety of payout options. Please call Voya at (800) 584-6001 for additional information on distributions or to request distribution paperwork. Payout options include:

  • Deferral of all or a portion of your benefits to a later date.
  • Lump sum or partial lump sum distribution in combination with other options.
  • Systematic withdrawal of your account over a specified period or of a specified amount.
  • Distribution over your lifetime.
  • Distribution over your lifetime and the lifetime of your designated beneficiary.
  • Distribution over a set period not extending beyond your life expectancy.
  • Distribution over a set period of time not extending beyond the joint and last survivor life expectancy of both you and your designated beneficiary.

The Plan permits the transfer of your benefits to another 457 deferred compensation plan that accepts such transfers. You are also permitted to roll over your benefits into another eligible retirement plan or a traditional IRA.

When am I required to begin receiving distributions?

The IRS requires that distributions under a 457 plan begin no later than the April 1st of the calendar year following the calendar year in which you attain age 73 or separate from service, whichever occurs later.

When am I subject to taxation?

Amounts distributed directly to you from the Plan will only be taxable to you when actually paid, will be reported on IRS Form 1099-R, and will be subject to 20% federal tax withholding (to the extent that the distribution is rollover eligible). MetroMax distributions are not subject to an IRS 10% premature penalty tax, even if distributed prior to your attaining age 59 ½. If your MetroMax account includes assets rolled over from a non-457(b) plan, they may be subject to a 10% premature penalty tax if distributed before attaining age 59 ½, unless an IRS exception applies. Please consult with a tax advisor for more information.

Payout Options

When you are eligible to receive a distribution under the plan, MetroMax provides you with a wide variety of payout options.  Please call Voya at (800) 584-6001 for additional information on distributions or to request distribution paperwork.  These payout options include:

Systematic withdrawal of your account over a specified period or of a specified amount

  • Specified Period- not less than three (3) years and no more than 30 years.
  • Specified Amount - minimum payment amount is $250.
  • Once payments begin, you can continue to make investment changes on the balance remaining in your account.
  • Payments can be monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually.

Deferral of all or a portion of your benefits to a later date

  • The latest date to which you can defer payments is the April 1st of the year following the year you reach age 73, or April 1st of the year following the year you retire, whichever is later.
  • If you defer a payout at the time you separate from service or retire, you may make one additional election to further defer the payment of your benefits, as long as it does not go beyond the dates described above. This second election allows you to postpone your payments to a later date, but not to accelerate them to an earlier date.

Lump sum, or partial lump sum distribution in combination with other options

  • Take all or a portion of your account balance in cash.

Distribution over your lifetime and the lifetime of your designated beneficiary - Joint and Survivor Annuity

  • Guaranteed payments for the lives of the participant and a designated beneficiary.

Transfer to another 457 Plan

  • Under the 457 plan, you are also permitted to transfer your 457 benefits to another 457 deferred compensation plan that accepts such transfers.

Distribution over a set period not extending beyond your life expectancy - Life Annuity with Period Certain

  • Guaranteed payments for participant’s lifetime. Guarantee is based on the claims’ paying ability of Voya Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company (“VRIAC”).
  • Minimum guarantee period (five (5) to 20 years).

Distribution over a set period of time not extending beyond the joint and last survivor life expectancy of both you and your designated beneficiary - Joint and Survivor Annuity with Period Certain

  • Guaranteed payment for the lives of the participant and a designated beneficiary.
  • Minimum guarantee period (five (5) to 20 years).

Distribution over your lifetime - Life Annuity

  • Payments guaranteed for participant’s life only. Upon the participant’s death, no payments are made to a beneficiary.