Winter 2012
2012: The State of Enrollment
To kick off 2012, we looked at trends in retirement plan enrollment and strategies for increasing participation. The numbers show growing use of automatic enrollment and managed accounts.1 Improving participant education can also make a difference. Let's look at the trends and four strategies for enrollment success that your advisor and The Standard can help you implement.
continueMarket Commentary
By Julie Grandstaff, VP & Managing Director, StanCorp Investment Advisers, Inc.
Popular discontent so defined 2011 that Time magazine named "The Protester" as Person-of-the-Year. Throughout the world, people took to the streets to express dissatisfaction with their governments' unresponsiveness to their needs.
The last 12 months have felt more eventful than a typical year. Besides protests and regime changes, 2011's other significant events included the Japanese earthquake/tsunami, the death of Osama Bin Laden, and the budget fight here in the United States that ultimately resulted in the loss of our AAA credit rating — once considered unassailable.
How did the markets do last quarter and what does the new year hold?
continueFinal Countdown: Fee Disclosures Are Coming
The ERISA fee disclosure deadlines set by the Department of Labor are just around the corner. Until recently, fees have not necessarily been on the radar for participants. In a February 2011 AARP survey, more than 800 401(k) participants were asked if they paid fees in their retirement account.2 Seven out of 10 responded that they did not think they paid fees to their 401(k) plan provider to maintain their account. When informed of the fees, six in 10 said they were not aware of the amount they pay in fees to maintain their account.
continueMaking Hardship Distributions Easier
Since the economic downtown began, more participants have been requesting hardship distributions from their retirement savings accounts. In response, for plans which have specified The Standard to be the Manager of Approval Process (MAP), The Standard developed simplified guidelines for approvals that sped up our maximum handling time by 26 percent. Once we receive all required documentation, participants can expect a determination in two business days.
continueNew Personal Savings Center And PlanNet Will Launch In Early 2012
Scheduled to launch in early 2012, our redesigned Personal Savings Center and PlanNet online services will offer streamlined, intuitive navigation.
continuePlan Sponsors Ask...
Q. We need to offset as many plan costs as possible. What types of plan expenses can be paid out of plan assets?
Q. I know that compliance testing is due by March 15. What do I need to do to work with The Standard to meet that deadline?
Q. Our plan has quite a few "missing" participants. What does The Standard do to track them down, and what's our role?
Discover our answers to these questions.
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The Mainspring in Motion quarterly newsletter for retirement plan sponsors features market commentary, regulatory and legislative updates, product enhancement announcements and articles on retirement readiness, savings, participant behavior and improving plan effectiveness.
Plan Sponsor's Quarterly Calendar
Consult your plan's counsel or tax advisor regarding these and other items that may apply to your plan.
January
- Send payroll and employee census data to The Standard for plan-year-end compliance testing (calendar year plans).
- Audit fourth quarter payroll and plan deposit dates to ensure compliance with the Department of Labor's rules regarding timely deposit of participant contributions and loan repayments.
- Verify that employees who became eligible for the plan between October 1 and December 31 received and returned an enrollment form. Follow up for forms that were not returned.
- For plans with automatic contribution increases, increase the participant's contribution amount.
February
- Update the plan's ERISA fidelity bond coverage to reflect the plan's assets as of December 31 (calendar year plans). Remember that if the plan holds employer stock, bond coverage is higher than for non-stock plans.
- Issue a reminder memo or e-mail to all employees to encourage them to review and update, if necessary, their beneficiary designations for all benefit plans by which they are covered.
- Review and revise the roster of all plan fiduciaries and confirm each individual's responsibilities and duties to the plan in writing. Ensure that each fiduciary understands his or her obligations to the plan.
March
- Begin planning for the timely completion and submission of the plan's Form 5500 and, if required, a plan audit. (calendar year plans)
- Review all outstanding participant plan loans to determine if there are any delinquent payments. Also, confirm that each loan's repayment period and the amount borrowed comply with legal limits.
- Check bulletin boards and display racks to make sure that posters and other plan materials are conspicuously posted and readily available to employees, and that information is complete and current.
