Making Cents | August 2025

Announcements | Looking Ahead | Spotlight | Learning More | Planning for Retirement

AUGUST 2025 | IN THIS ISSUE

Do Roth after-tax contributions make sense for you?

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Your account security matters.

What kind of investor are you? It may depend on your age.

Feel confident about your finances and your future

Steps to reduce or eliminate debt

QUICK LINKS

Log into Your CalPERS 457 Plan Account

Schedule an Appointment with a Dedicated Account Manage

Participant Change Authorization Form

Voya S.A.F.E. Guarantee

Voya Learn live and on-demand sessions

Voya Learn: Prioritizing debt

Announcements

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Do Roth after-tax contributions make sense for you?

If your employer can process Roth contributions from their payroll, you can save for retirement in the CalPERS 457 Plan on a pre-tax and/or Roth after-tax basis.

The Roth contribution option in the CalPERS 457 Plan gives you more flexibility when saving for retirement. While it doesn’t change how much you can contribute or where you can invest your savings, it gives you more control over when your contributions and retirement income will be subject to federal income tax.

Roth contributions are made on an after-tax basis. That means your Roth contributions are taxed before they’re invested in your CalPERS 457 Plan account. In exchange for paying taxes now, you may be able to withdraw your Roth contributions and any earnings tax-free when you retire (qualifying factors apply). That could mean more retirement income.

You’re trading a current tax benefit for a future tax benefit, but does this trade-off make sense for you? Answer the following questions. If you have more “Yes” answers than “No” answers, the Roth option may make sense. More “No” answers indicate that pre-tax saving may make more sense.

Do you plan to work at least five more years before you retire?	( ) Yes ( ) No
Do you think that your tax rate will be higher than it is now by the time you retire?	( ) Yes ( ) No
Are you willing to swap a current tax break for a longer-term tax benefit?	( ) Yes ( ) No
Are you focused on passing as much as possible on to your heirs?	( ) Yes ( ) No

Making contribution changes to your CalPERS 457 Plan account is easy. First, confirm that your employer can process your Roth contribution from their payroll to the CalPERS 457 Plan. Then download and complete the Participant Change Authorization Form, get your employer’s signature, and return it as directed on the form.

Do you have questions about your retirement saving strategy? We want to help.
If you’re not sure if saving on a pre-tax or Roth after-tax basis is right for you, schedule a one-on-one personal phone appointment with a dedicated Account Manager¹ to review and discuss your retirement saving strategy. Call 888-713-8244 or visit calpers457.timetap.com to schedule an appointment on a date and at a time that’s most convenient for you.

¹ Information from registered Plan Service Representatives is for educational purposes only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Local Plan Service Representatives are registered representatives of Voya Financial Advisors, Inc., member SIPC (VFA). Plan administration services provided by Voya Institutional Plan Services, LLC.

Looking Ahead

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October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Your account security matters.

Cybersecurity threats are more sophisticated than ever, but it’s easy to take the first step in keeping your information secure.

If you’ve never logged into your CalPERS 457 Plan account, registering your username and password can help you take advantage of strong online security to help provide protection against the ongoing risk of fraud and cyber threats.

You are your own first line of defense in protecting your account and identity. Visit calpers.voya.com and click Register Now to create your username and password. You can also provide a phone number or email address to enable multi-factor authentication to make it more difficult for a fraudster to access your account. Then log in, go to your profile in the upper right hand corner, and click Communication Preferences to update your notifications to paperless for your account. Going “green” with your CalPERS 457 Plan correspondence and notifications is another way to keep your information secure, since you’ll receive them through email instead of paper mail.

If any assets are taken from your CalPERS 457 Plan account due to unauthorized activity and through no fault of your own, the Voya S.A.F.E.® (Secure Accounts for Everyone) Guarantee we will restore the value of your account. Keeping your account secure is a shared responsibility, though, so take the issue of fraud and cyber risk seriously and register or log into your account today.

For more information about the Voya S.A.F.E. Guarantee, visit voya.com/articles/safe-guarantee. For assistance with registering your CalPERS 457 Plan account, call the Plan Information Line at 800-260-0659 weekdays from 6:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. PT (excluding stock market holidays).

Spotlighting the CalPERS 457 Plan

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What kind of investor are you? It may depend on your age.

As you navigate through your career and life’s various stages, your responsibilities and goals may change your financial situation. That could potentially lead you to change your asset allocation strategy. Although there is no definitive rule for allocating your assets by age, here are some examples of how to apply your investing style and risk tolerance toward the investment options available in the CalPERS 457 Plan.

Early Career (20s and 30s): Building for growth	When you’re young and just starting your career, time is your greatest ally. Saving for retirement at a younger age allows you to take advantage of compound interest, which can help your money grow exponentially over time. If you’re invested in a CalPERS Target Retirement Date Fund at this age, the portfolio is at its most aggressive since you can afford to take on more risk with decades ahead to recover from market downturns. If you prefer to pick and design your asset allocation from the core funds in the CalPERS 457 Plan, a sample portfolio might consist of an 90% allocation to stocks and 10% to bonds.
Mid-Career (40s and 50s): Balancing growth and stability	As you advance in your career, your financial responsibilities likely increase. You may have a mortgage, children’s education, and retirement savings to grow. While growth remains important, stability starts to become important. Once you’re within 20 years of your retirement age, the CalPERS Target Retirement Date Funds gradually shift from aggressive to conservative as you journey to and through retirement. Core fund investors may shift their asset allocation to include more bonds at this stage, since bonds provide stability and help reduce the impact of stock market volatility.
Pre-Retirement (60s): Protecting what you’ve built	As you approach retirement, the focus shifts to preserving the wealth you’ve accumulated. With less time to recover from market downturns, reducing risk becomes essential. A suggested example would be a more even split between stocks and bonds in your CalPERS 457 Plan account. While stocks still offer growth potential, bonds provide a safety net to help ensure that you have the funds you need when you retire.
In Retirement: Prioritizing income and preservation	Once you’ve retired, your primary purpose is to provide steady income and ensure your savings last. Your investments may lean even more conservative, with 70% to 100% allocated to fixed-income investments like bonds and cash equivalents. Those type of fixed-income assets provide predictable returns and help shield your portfolio from market fluctuations.

These are just some things to consider in managing your CalPERS 457 Plan investments. You don’t have to do it alone, though. Call 888-713-8244 or visit calpers457.timetap.com to schedule a one-on-one personal phone appointment with your dedicated Account Manager to review and discuss your investment strategy.

Learning more about the CalPERS 457 Plan

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Feel confident about your finances and your future

Financial confidence isn’t just about having money. It’s also about knowing how to manage it. Voya’s Financial Wellness Experience in your CalPERS 457 Plan account online can help you assess your financial wellness across six pillars:

Protection
We all want to protect our families and ourselves. When it comes to getting the protection you need, a simple plan to help you make informed decisions is essential.

Spending & Saving
Your income is a lifeline, so what you do with it counts. Live within your means today and save for tomorrow.

Emergency Fund
Saving for a rainy day involves making sure you have enough money set aside in an emergency fund to cover expenses and protect yourself when life hands you a few surprises.

Debt Management
How would life change for you if you were debt-free? Knowing where to start is essential to reducing and eliminating debt.

Retirement
Maintaining your current lifestyle is one of the most important factors when it comes to an ideal retirement. Make sure you keep in mind that the money you save needs to last, so save consistently as much as you can.

Other Savings Goals
Think of everything you’d ever want to do if you could. Does it seem like it’s a dream? Having a sound budget in place will help keep your goals alive.

Visit calpers.voya.com to log in, go to your CalPERS 457 Plan account homepage, and click Financial Wellness to complete an assessment online as part of a comprehensive financial wellness experience that automatically incorporates your retirement saving progress. You’ll then receive a personalized summary with actionable steps to improve your financial outlook.

No matter where you are on your financial wellness journey, additional resources and educational items are available to help you get and stay on track. For more tools and videos about any of the pillars of financial wellness, visit voya.com/voyalearn.

Planning for retirement with the CalPERS 457 Plan

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Steps to reduce or eliminate debt

At some point in your life, you’ll likely need to take on some kind of debt to achieve a personal or financial goal or need, like attending college or completing renovations on your home. How you manage that debt can have a dramatic impact on your overall financial wellness.

How would life change for you if you were debt-free? It may not seem possible, but knowing what you owe and making a plan to address it is essential to reducing and eliminating debt. A big part of personal finance is paying off debt, because it continues to gather interest until the money you owe is paid back to the lender.

Pay more than the minimum.	Try to reduce interest costs by paying extra on high-interest debts like credit card debt.
Consolidate debt where you can.	Transferring card balances from high interest to lower interest cards may save money and help you pay debt faster, but there may be transfer fees.
Pick a plan and stick to it.	The snowball method starts with you paying off your smallest debt first. From there, you work your way to paying off your next smallest debt, and so on, until all debts are paid. The avalanche method is a way to pay off debt that helps you spend less money on interest overall. You begin by paying the debt with the highest interest rate, and then the next highest interest rate until all debts are paid.
Pay with cash.	One way to manage your overall debt is to consider purchasing things with cash. Using cash or a debit card can help you avoid overspending, make impulse purchases, and eliminate any extra fees that may apply when paying with plastic.
Understand the difference between good and bad debt.	Good debt generates income, increases your net worth, or has future value (such as student loans, which can be seen as an investment in your future). Bad debt does not increase your net worth or provide long-term financial value. It often comes with high interest rates, and the items or services purchased typically depreciate quickly or have no lasting value.

For more tips on how you can prioritize your debt and make a plan to eliminate it, watch the Voya Learn video on prioritizing debt.

This material has been provided for educational purposes only. This material was created to provide accurate and reliable information on the subjects covered. It is not intended to provide specific legal, tax or other professional advice.

Information from registered Plan Service Representatives is for educational purposes only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Local Plan Service Representatives are registered representatives of Voya Financial Advisors, Inc., member SIPC. Plan administration services provided by Voya Institutional Plan Services, LLC.