State of California Savings Plus and SchoolsFirst Shine at P&I Eddy Awards

State of California Savings Plus and SchoolsFirst Shine at P&I Eddy Awards

Nationwide Retirement Solutions, and two of its key partners - State of California Savings Plus and SchoolsFirst Retirement Planning - were recognized with three first-place awards at Pension & Investments' 2026 Eddy Awards Ceremony in Fort Lauderdale, FL on March 17. The Eddy Awards were created over 25 years ago to recognize best practices in providing investment education to defined contribution plan participants.

State of California Savings Plus Program won for public plans with more than 5,000 participants in both the Financial Wellness and Special Projects categories. SchoolsFirst Retirement Planning also won in the Special Projects category, finishing first among not-for-profits with more than 5,000 participants.

"These awards highlight the power of putting our participants at the heart of our work, using data to get the right information to the right people at the right time and working together to make an impact," said Kevin Jestice, president of Nationwide Retirement Solutions.

The award-winning campaigns showcased innovative approaches to drive meaningful participant engagement and measurable actions:

Special Projects Category: SchoolsFirst Retirement Planning - RetireU Virtual Campus
The RetireU Virtual Campus reimagined retirement education through an immersive, gamified experience, including a fully-translated Spanish version that is engaging and action-oriented. The program attracted nearly 6,000 unique visitors and generated more than 35,000 completed participant actions, increasing enrollments by 11%, contributions by 8%, and digital engagement with online planning tools by 15%.

"We truly appreciate the partnership with Nationwide to help drive strong engagement and meaningful impacts for our Members," said Cristian Lopez, manager of SchoolsFirst Retirement Planning.

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From left: Christian Lopez (SchoolsFirst), Julie Bertone (Nationwide), Fred Gabriel (P&I)

Financial Wellness Category: California Savings Plus Program - Roadmap to Retirement Readiness
This program drove measurable behavior change through personalized outreach, gamified education, and timely campaigns, leading to more than 200,000 participant interactions across education and engagement channels. The effort increased plan participation from 70% to 74.3%, delivering a 17.6% increase in participant contributions, and successfully re-engaged inactive savers, with 38% of new contributors having previously stopped participation.

Special Projects Category: California Savings Plus Program - Online Enrollment
This initiative transformed how participants enroll and engage by removing friction and redesigning the journey with empathy and clarity. As a result, Savings Plus achieved record-breaking results, including a 39% year-over-year increase in enrollments and a 58% reduction in time to enroll, with 88% of enrollments completed digitally. Targeted follow-ups and personalized nudges drove conversion rates as high as 71%.

"Our partnership with Nationwide has enabled meaningful, participant-focused solutions by removing enrollment barriers that build confidence from day one and delivering personalized, ongoing financial education that meets participants where they are-inspiring California state workers to make informed decisions and improve retirement outcomes," said Sandy Blair, plan administrator for California Savings Plus.

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From left: Sandy Blair (Savings Plus), Fred Gabriel (P&I), Zack Sharp (Nationwide), Jake Sours (Nationwide)

Nationwide Retirement Solutions is a business within Nationwide, a Fortune 100 company based in Columbus, Ohio, that is one of the largest and strongest diversified financial services and insurance organizations in the United States. Nationwide Retirement Solutions helps secure financial futures for approximately three million participants in 30,000 retirement plans with $250 billion in assets, across full-service recordkeeping, investment solutions, and pension risk transfer.¹ Nationwide remains No. 1 in public 457 plans (based on the number of plans)² with an average tenure of 29 years.¹ The company also continues to maintain significant presence in private 401(k), nonprofit 403(b) markets, and pension risk transfer.

For 50 years, Nationwide has remained committed to continually improving its retirement solutions and service experience to better support individuals preparing for and living in retirement. The company offers a diversified portfolio of solutions that complement its traditional recordkeeping and education services. Nationwide's goal is to help participants prepare for retirement by providing investment solutions and services designed to support long-term growth, risk management and income planning. These offerings include mutual funds, managed accounts, pension risk transfer capabilities, fixed and stable value solutions, and lifetime income options.

Visit nrsforu.comfor more information about the tools and services Nationwide provides to retirement plan participants.

¹ Nationwide Financial (Dec 31, 2025)
² PLANSPONSOR 2025 Recordkeeping Survey

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