Proud to Be Part of This (National Award Winning) Team

Sometimes you have to stop and smell the popcorn popping in the break room on Thursdays. 

It's been about a week since it was announced that Alliance Benefit Group Companies of Minnesota and Kansas (ABGNCS, ABGFS) were awarded the Best-In-Retirement Business IMPACT Award™ from Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. ("Schwab") and it's a proud moment for our entire organization. This has been a fun couple of weeks, Schwab even visited our office and made a video that made us look like we could be the subject of a TV show. Catch it by following this link or tune into TNT on Wednesday nights at 8/7 Central. 

Coming to ABG last year from the advertising industry in Minneapolis, I have seen my fair share of excitement and sorrow over industry awards (mostly sorrow and passive aggressive finger pointing). The excitement surrounding this though is even more special. Perhaps, because our headquarters isn't in a trendy warehouse district or a glassy sky scraper, it's in Albert Lea, Minnesota. A town often referred to as "Mayberry" which happens to be placed at the nexus of the universe, otherwise known and the crossroads of I35 and I90. Possibly, because our people are so humble they pass the credit around like a holiday fruitcake. It's also been fun to embrace the collaboration between our advisor, consulting and recordkeeping divisions. But, the biggest reason I'm so impressed is because if I wasn't here every day to see the impact our 100+ person team has across the national retirement (and health & wellness and payroll and COBRA) community, I would have a hard time believing it. This award helps reinforce that notion. It truly is a great team across the board. For that I wanted to take this week's blog post to thank the team I get to work with every day. 

Good work all. Here's to being recognized and here's to further success in the years to come. Now it's time to get back to work so we can put more hardware in the trophy case, and more importantly help our clients succeed. 

The Author: Cole Thompson 

Marketing Specialist 

abgncs.com

cthompson@abg-mn.com

Time to Review Your Retirement Plan Options. It's Plan Document Restatement Time!

We knew it was close, now it's time to consider better options for your retirement plan with your plan document restatement!

AllianceBenefit Group North Central States, Inc. sponsors a pre-approved plan document and therefore it is likely that your retirement plan document is subject to an IRS mandatory restatement. This IRS mandatory restatement is referred to as the PPA restatement due to the Pension Protection Act and has a 2 year window for restatement that is open now and will end on April 30, 2016. 

Since your plan needs to be restated anyway, now would be a great time to add some additional features without incurring additional amendment charges. Some examples of items to consider are as follows:

·       Does your plan offer Roth deferrals? These are after tax dollars that can be deferred into the plan and could be beneficial to some of your employees. Providing the flexibility to manage their own distribution tax risk is an important feature for some plan participants and may encourage participation. For some employees, adding Roth offers the equivalent of an increase to the 402(g) contribution limit since the taxes have already been paid. 

·       Do you want a retirement plan that provides a high level of participation? An automatic enrollment plan may be right for you. There are different options to choose from when adding this feature:

1)     A basic automatic enrollment 401(k) plan must state that employees will be automatically enrolled in the plan unless they elect otherwise and must specify the percentage of an employee's wages that will be automatically deducted from each paycheck for contribution to the plan. The document must also explain that employees have the right to elect not to have salary deferrals withheld or to elect a different percentage to be withheld.

2)     An eligible automatic contribution arrangement (EACA) is similar to the basic automatic enrollment plan but has specific notice requirements. An EACA can allow automatically enrolled participants to withdraw their contributions within 30 to 90 days of the first contribution.

3)     A qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) is a type of automatic enrollment 401(k) plan that automatically passes certain kinds of annual required testing. The plan must include certain features, such as a fixed schedule of automatic employee contributions, employer contributions, a special vesting schedule, and specific notice requirements.

·       Are there any other features that you would like to consider for your plan? Now is the time to discuss your questions and concerns with your advisor and/or your administrative team at Alliance Benefit Group. 

If Alliance Benefit Group North Central States is not your document provider, you may want to discuss these options with the party responsible for providing that for your plan. ABGNCS will need a copy of your document once it is restated so that we can update our recordkeeping software with any changes. 

Be sure to let ABGNCS know if you have any questions. We’re here to help!

The Author: Babette Engebretson, QPA, QKA

Compliance Supervisor

abgncs.com

bengebretson@abg-mn.com

Disclaimer: This blog is of an informative nature and should not be taken as advice. Please work with the appropriate parties for those services.