FAQ's

Voya is a leading provider of deferred compensation education, administration and investment services to government plan sponsors and participants. We have serviced government retirement plans since 1972 and currently provide investment and/or administrative services to more than 4,300 cities, counties and municipalities. We have provided services to the City of Portland since 1982.

A 457(b) deferred compensation plan is a retirement plan that allows you to make contributions into an account established on your behalf. Your contributions are made on a pre-tax basis, and any earnings are tax-deferred. Taxes are due when money is distributed from the plan. The amounts accumulated on your behalf are distributed at retirement, or due to another qualifying event, such as severance from employment or death. For additional information regarding the City’s 457 Plan, please see the Plan Overview section.

No. Your contributions to the 457 Plan have no effect on the calculation of salary for purposes of computing other benefits such as retirement and Social Security.

Changes to your contribution amount can be made through your online account – simply log in through this website and follow these instructions. Please note: the City’s Employee Self Service (ESS) tool located on the City’s website no longer accepts contribution change information. All contribution changes must be done through your online account.

Yes, you may defer accumulated vacation, holiday or comp pay. Utilize the City’s Final Paycheck election form.  Deferrals are subject to annual plan limits.

You can stop contributing to the Deferred Compensation Plan via your online account – log in through this website and adjust your contribution amount to zero. Please note: the City’s Employee Self Service (ESS) tool located on the City’s website no longer accepts contribution change information. All contribution changes must be done through your online account.

You will no longer be eligible to participate in the Plan and have compensation deferred while on an unpaid leave of absence. You will be able to resume participation upon returning to pay status with the City. If your leave of absence exceeds one year, you will need to complete new enrollment paperwork upon your return to pay status.

Yes. The Plan permits you to roll over benefits from another employer-sponsored eligible retirement plan or traditional IRA. In order to roll over benefits into the Plan, the City requires that you complete an Acknowledgement Form, available on the City’s website by clicking here.

Note that amounts rolled into a government 457(b) plan from another plan type (including a traditional IRA) would be subject to the 10% premature distribution penalty tax if distributed prior to age 59½ (unless an IRS exception applies).

Distributions are allowed only upon incurring a “triggering event.” Triggering events are retirement, severance from employment with the City, death, attainment of age 73, the occurrence of an approved unforeseeable emergency, or if your total account balance under the Plan does not exceed $5,000 and certain conditions are met. Refer to the Plan Overview section of this website for specifics.

In accordance with Federal Regulations, payment prior to severance from employment is only permitted if you qualify for an unforeseeable emergency withdrawal or if your account balance does not exceed $5,000, you have not contributed to the 457 Plan for two years prior to this distribution, and you have not previously received this type of withdrawal.

When you sever City employment, you are entitled to a distribution from the Plan. Please contact one of our local representatives for information and assistance at (503) 937-0378. If you would like to receive a distribution, you will need to complete a Termination/Distribution Request Authorization form which is available through our local office at (503) 937-0378 or by calling our Customer Service Center at (800) 584-6001.
  • Postpone any decision on the payment of benefits to a future date (no later than the April 1 following the calendar year you turn age 73 or separate from service, whichever is later),
  • Receive your benefits immediately, under one of the distribution options available under the Plan (please refer to the Plan Overview section for the available distribution options), or
  • Rollover your benefits into another employer-sponsored, eligible retirement plan (an eligible retirement plan is a 401 qualified plan, a 403(b) tax deferred annuity program, or another government 457(b) deferred compensation plan) or traditional IRA.

Please note that under the Plan, distribution of your account can begin no earlier than 31 days following your severance from employment.​

Yes. If at a later date you decide your existing payment option may not be appropriate for your current situation, you may make a change. (Please note: you cannot make a change if you previously elected an annuity payment option.)

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. If you fail to receive the minimum required distribution for any tax year, a 25% excise tax penalty is imposed on the required amount that was not timely distributed. These rules are referred to as IRS Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) requirements.

A systematic withdrawal option, or SWO, is one of the forms of periodic payment options available for the distribution of your benefits under the Plan. Under SWO, you elect whether to receive your benefits in a specified amount or over a stated period of time, subject to certain requirements. Once your election is made, Voya will pay your installment payments automatically in the method you select. You may choose to receive benefits monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. While you are receiving your SWO payments, you are still able to direct the investment of amounts remaining in your Plan account. You may change the amount and timing of your SWO payments, as long as the minimum requirements are met and you continue to receive the Required Minimum Distributions under the Plan.

Yes. At retirement or severance from employment, you are permitted to rollover your benefits to another employer-sponsored eligible retirement plan or traditional IRA.

All distributions are eligible for rollover except for:

  • An unforeseeable emergency withdrawal;
  • IRS Required Minimum Distributions payable on or after you attain age 73 ;
  • Periodic payments made over your life or a specified period of 10 years or more.
  • Amounts rolled from the 457(b) Plan to another plan type would be subject to any applicable 10% premature federal penalty tax if distributed prior to age 59½ (unless an IRS exception applies).

Please contact our local office in Portland at (503) 937-0355 or toll-free at (800) 238-6281 for additional information on distributions and eligibility for rollover. To request a rollover, you will need to complete a Termination/Distribution Request Authorization form, available by calling Customer Service at (800) 584-6001.

All of the payments you receive from the 457 Plan are subject to Federal and State income taxes when paid.

Federal income tax withholding will apply to your payments, as described below, based on whether you are eligible to rollover the distribution.

  • If you receive a distribution that is eligible to be rolled over, a mandatory 20% will be withheld for federal tax.
  • If you receive a distribution that is not eligible to be rolled over, 10% for federal tax will be withheld at the time of payment. However, you may elect to have no withholding withheld.

Amounts distributed from the Plan are not subject to the 10% federal penalty tax if distributed prior to your attaining age 59½. However, if you have previously rolled over amounts from a plan (including a traditional IRA) other than a government 457 plan, such rollover amounts will be subject to this 10% federal penalty tax if distributed prior to attaining age 59½, unless an IRS exception applies.

Voya Financial® does not offer legal or tax advice. Please seek the advice of your own legal or tax advisor prior to making a tax-related investment decision.

Amounts awarded and paid to your former spouse as a result of a divorce, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO), will be taxable to your former spouse.

If you incur an unforeseeable emergency under the 457 Plan, you will need to complete a Voya Withdrawal Request Authorization package - please call Voya at (800) 584-6001 and speak with a CSA who will provide the withdrawal request package.

For further assistance, call our Portland Office at (503) 937-0355 or toll-free at (800) 238-6281. Your local representative can answer any questions you have regarding applying for a withdrawal. Additional details on unforeseeable emergency withdrawals are available in the Plan Overview section of this site.

 

You can add/edit your beneficiary designations through your online account - – simply log in through this website and follow these instructions.

If you do not name a beneficiary (or if your beneficiary dies before you), death benefits will be paid to your estate. Refer to the Plan Overview section for specifics.

The 457 Plan includes specific provisions that allow re-employed military personnel to receive the same benefits under the Plan that they would have been entitled to had they remained in City service throughout the period of military service. To learn more, please contact the City Treasury Office, or call our Portland Office at (503) 937-0355 or toll-free at (800) 238-6281.