Product and Service Launches – 12/5/24

Fiduciary In A Box and Homa Health launch AI-powered ERISA contract review tool; Wespath debuts fossil-fuel-free funds for institutional investors; Payroll Integrations automates SECURE 2.0 compliance; and more.

Fiduciary In A Box and Homa Health Launch AI-Powered ERISA Contract Review Tool

Fiduciary In A Box, the software-as-a-service platform for Employee Retirement Income Security Act health and retirement plan compliance, has announced a partnership with Homa Health, an artificial intelligence company.

The collaboration brings artificial intelligence to plan sponsors and fiduciaries, enabling automated contract reviews to ensure compliance with ERISA regulations and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

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Through this partnership, FIAB users can have their uploaded plan contracts reviewed by Homa’s advanced AI system. The resulting report provides an evaluation of compliance with federal requirements, including the prohibition of gag clauses under the CAA.

“With Homa Health’s cutting-edge technology, our users can identify and address non-compliance issues quickly and confidently, well in advance of their next Gag Clause Prohibition Compliance Attestation, due December 31,” Jamie Greenleaf, co-founder of Fiduciary In A Box, said in a statement.

Wespath Debuts Fossil-Fuel-Free Funds for Institutional Investors

Wespath Institutional Investments LLC announced the launch of two investment funds designed for institutional investors that want to exclude fossil fuel companies and certain securities associated with conflict-affected areas from their portfolios.

The new funds, the Social Values Choice Equity Fund – I Series and the Social Values Choice Bond Fund – I Series, are intended to provide faith-based and values-aligned nonprofit organizations—such as foundations, senior living communities and higher education institutions—with global equity and fixed-income investment exposure in ways that align with their values.

“We know investors have diverse perspectives on how to respond to complex challenges like climate change and areas of human conflict, and we want to provide investment options that resonate with their values,” Wespath Benefits and Investments CEO Andy Hendren said in a statement.

SVCEF-I is a passively managed equity fund investing in broad-market companies in the U.S. and other developed countries. SVCBF-I is an actively managed fixed-income fund with allocations to U.S. and international bond markets. Wespath engaged external asset management firms Xponance and PIMCO to serve as subadvisors for SVCEF-I and SVCBF-I, respectively.

Payroll Integrations Automates SECURE 2.0 Compliance

Payroll Integrations Inc., a technology company offering benefit automation, announced its work with U.S. employers to expedite their compliance with the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. Payroll Integrations has pre-built integrations with ADP, Quickbooks Online, Paychex, Empower and Transamerica.

The company’s platform prepares companies for compliance with the new 2025 requirements under SECURE 2.0, including automatic enrollment in new retirement plans. Through Payroll Integrations, employers can connect their retirement offerings with their payroll platform to automate retirement enrollment, eligibility checks and contributions for employees in minutes.

Some of the biggest changes in SECURE 2.0 that employers must comply with will go into effect on January 1, 2025. This includes the automatic enrollment of employees into new retirement plans at a minimum of 3% of their salary, higher catch-up contribution limits, the ability to offer student loan payment matching and updates to long-term, part-time worker retirement eligibility.

“We’re making it easy for employers to comply with SECURE 2.0 requirements and do so quickly as we head into 2025, so they can direct their time and focus on employees’ financial wellness,” Doug Sabella, CEO and co-founder of Payroll Integrations, said in a statement.

Voya Financial, Orion Announce Technology Platform for Financial Professionals

Voya Financial Inc. announced that it is collaborating with Orion, a provider of wealth technology solutions for financial professionals, to launch an enhanced technology platform for its Voya Financial Advisors business.

Voya WealthPath will provide VFA’s financial professionals in-plan and retail and advisory solutions, including financial planning and client relationship management tools. The new platform offers a more efficient experience for the firm’s network of financial professionals to better manage their business.

Enhancements include new retail brokerage and advisory account opening processes, integration of data, and improved tracking of client interaction.

“Over the past several years, Voya has delivered on our mission and vision of serving our clients, and the financial professionals we work with while continuing to meet the evolving health, wealth and investment needs of our customers and their participants,” Jonathan Reilly, president of Voya Financial Advisors, said in a statement.

BNY, Conduent to Deliver End-to-End Pension Risk Transfer Solution

The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., a global financial services company, and Conduent Inc., a global technology-led business solutions and services company, announced a partnership to connect insurers and pension acquirers with end-to-end pension risk transfer services in one place.

“Companies and their insurers or pension acquirers can reduce liabilities, risks and administration costs while Conduent and BNY provide stellar support to plan participants,” John Larson, vice president of total benefits at Conduent, said in a statement. 

The solution combines BNY’s global payments and cash management capabilities with Conduent’s records maintenance for pension accounts, managing transaction data and ability to provide customer service for pension members.

“By drawing on BNY’s platform infrastructure for payments and cash management services, and Conduent’s integrated administration expertise, we are able to deliver a unified, end-to-end package that supports clients through every stage of the pension risk transfer lifecycle,” Carl Slabicki, BNY Treasury Services’ co-head of global payments, said in a statement.

Empower to Offer Income Products From Allianz, Putnam and TIAA

The country’s second-largest recordkeeper adds more annuity retirement income products, including its first on-platform fixed-index annuity.

Empower has further expanded its investment offerings that leverage annuities to create a pension-like paycheck for participants.

On Thursday, the recordkeeper announced the addition of income options from Allianz Life and Putnam Investments, a Franklin Templeton company, which is leveraging TIAA’s fixed annuity option.

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The Putnam Retirement Advantage Income Series of target-date funds is trusteed by Great Gray Trust Co. LLC and is available to plan sponsors and their participants through a TDF. The guaranteed income is a conversion option provided by TIAA.

Allianz Lifetime Income+ Annuity will be available at Empower, beginning on January 1, 2025, through Empower’s advice and planning solution, My Total Retirement, or through retirement managed accounts with advisers. Additionally, in early 2025, plans will be able to access T. Rowe Price’s investment offering within Empower’s managed account solution with the option to include Allianz Lifetime Income+.

The announcement adds to in-plan and out-of-plan retirement income options Empower announced in March. Those included target-date-fund options that include an annuity-backed lifetime income withdrawal benefit, along with access to an institutionally-priced annuity marketplace.

“Partnering with Allianz Life and Franklin Templeton and adding more products like these to our current suite of income offerings will help provide confidence to many individuals as they prepare for the futures they’ve worked so hard to achieve,” Rich Linton, Empower’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

The Putnam and TIAA TDF option is designed to build up savings over the course of a worker’s lifetime while also helping to solve for guaranteed income once they retire, Brendan McCarthy, head of retirement investing at Nuveen, a TIAA company, wrote via email.

“Target-dates have done a great job of getting the American worker ‘to retirement’—this next generation of annuity target-date funds does a great job of getting the American worker through retirement by providing the option of income in retirement that they can’t outlive,” he said.

TIAA’s Secure Income Account annuity gives participants the option to annuitize, but does not require it, he noted.

The Allianz product allows participants to adjust the income they seek from the annuity and to maintain cash access to the value of the annuity, according to the firm.

“As the only in-plan annuity on Empower’s platform designed as an individual contract, Allianz Lifetime Income+ ensures seamless portability options without any changes to fees, features, or benefits,” Allianz wrote in a statement.

Morningstar Inc. will be behind the investment strategies in the managed accounts and adviser-managed accounts administering the investment.

Empower is the second-largest recordkeeper for defined contribution participants with 17.4 million, according to the 2024 PLANSPONSOR Recordkeeping Survey. Fidelity Investments is the largest with 31.8 million. PLANSPONSOR is a sister publication of PLANADVISER.

Separately, on Thursday, Nationwide announced a new digital tool for participants to consider their retirement income strategy and plan. Its “My Income & Retirement Planner” will give a “chance of success” score on obtaining the right amount of retirement income and will be able to review and compare withdrawal strategies.

The tool will be available to the roughly 2.7 million participants on Nationwide’s recordkeeping platform.

Correction: clarifies the offering for the Putnam income product.

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