Are you missing out on the state match?

Imagine if someone offered you free money to save for retirement, $900 a year to be exact. Now imagine that you turned the offer down. While this may sound ridiculous because who would turn down free money, that’s exactly what you’re doing! According to our data, you are not saving with the MO Deferred Comp Plan or you’re not saving enough to meet the minimum $25 monthly contribution for the state match.The State of Missouri has been matching qualified contributions to the deferred comp plan since July of 2022. If you contribute at least $25 a month to your MO Deferred Comp 457 account, the State of Missouri will match your contributions dollar-for-dollar up to a maximum of $75 each month.$75 dollars a month is only $37.50 every semi-monthly pay period. That’s six individual lunches out a month, 15 fancy coffees, 2 shirts, 1 manicure, a couple bags of golf balls, the list goes on and on. The point is, it’s important to carve out that $37.50 every semi-monthly paycheck – at minimum – because those funds can compound overtime and become a significant balance that can help you maintain or improve your lifestyle in retirement. For example, if you save $75 a month for 25 years, and receive a matching $75 a month, you could have over $101,000 at retirement to supplement your defined benefit pension from MOSER or MPERS and social security. That’s no chump change and that amount could really make or break a great retirement. The state match is designed to reward you for saving for retirement, or for some, to simply get started. To increase your savings, log in to your MO Deferred Comp account via modeferredcomp.org or the ESS Portal, select Change Contributions from the 457 drop down box in the middle of the page, update your contribution amount, click Next, and then click Submit if everything looks correct on the review page. If you’re new to the plan, you can set up your online access by visiting modeferredcomp.org, clicking the blue Log In button, choosing the Set Up Your Online Access link and following the instructions.