National Association of Counties

Nationwide Retirement Solutions (Nationwide) makes payments to the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the NACo Financial Services Center Partnership (FSC) for the value of services and endorsements that they provide generally for all their members related to Nationwide's products and services. These services and endorsements include:

• Dedicated staff to oversee and support the endorsement relationship.
• NACo's exclusive endorsement of Nationwide's products and services sold in the NACo Deferred Compensation Program, an IRS Code Section 457(b) plan.
• FSC's endorsement and promotion of other Nationwide products and services sold to counties or their employees.
• Permission to use the NACo and FSC's names and logos in connection with the promotion of Nationwide products and services.
• Opportunities to promote Nationwide's products and services at NACo conferences and meetings.
• Nationwide advertising and articles in NACo's newsletter County News.
• Nationwide speaking opportunities with NACo affiliate organizations.

NACo and FSC chose to endorse Nationwide and its products and services because they believed Nationwide to be best qualified to provide the retirement education, comprehensive investment choices and superior service for public employees. NACo and FSC's endorsements are based on their ongoing evaluation and review of the products and services offered by Nationwide. NACo and FSC's members benefit generally from NACo's ongoing evaluation of the competitiveness of Nationwide's products and services. Counties and their employees are free to choose Nationwide or any other provider for these products and services.

Nationwide pays a fee to NACo and FSC

Nationwide paid a fixed amount of $7,800,000 to NACo for fiscal year ending December 31, 2012 in exchange for its exclusive endorsement of Nationwide's products and services in the deferred compensation program. Nationwide also paid approximately $972 during 2012 to NACo in support of promotional items at NACo conferences.

Nationwide paid approximately $173,679 to FSC for fiscal year ending December 31, 2012 in exchange for its endorsement and for its promotion of other Nationwide products and services.

NACo and FSC may apportion some of the fees they receive to state associations of counties for their endorsement of the products and services.