Deals & People December 18, 2014

Transamerica Hires Defined Benefit Practice Leader

Transamerica Retirement Solutions hired Mark Valentine as vice president of defined benefit sales and business development for the East Coast.
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Valentine will lead Transamerica’s efforts to assist clients in addressing challenges, such as risk management, estimating and calculating benefits, budgeting for benefit expenditures, fiduciary liability, and efficient data management. He is tasked with providing best practices to them, relative to total retirement outsourcing, de-risking, liability management and modernization of data on administrative platforms.

“Ultimately, we want to ensure that our plan sponsors are able to help participants achieve the goal of retirement readiness,” says Valentine. “The challenges associated with defined benefit plans can seem daunting, so it’s important for our business partners to know that we are solidly focused on helping them streamline their plans, institute administrative efficiencies and reduce their exposure to liability.”

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Previously, Valentine was vice president of retirement plan sales and consultant relations for BB&T’s retirement and institutional services division. He has experience in the defined benefit, 401(k), and 403(b) markets, covering the large, mid, and small markets.

Products December 18, 2014

QBI Announces Fiduciary Service for Sponsors and Advisers

QBI, a provider of administration and consulting services for qualified retirement plans, launched a new service providing 3(16) fiduciary support to plan sponsors.
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The program allows employers to address their fiduciary risk and liability by appointing a qualified professional to oversee plan operations and introduce plan management controls.

Offered by QBI affiliate Fiduciary Administration, the program names the 3(16) fiduciary as the “plan administrator” who is responsible for the general operation of the plan. The expert adopts the formal responsibility for overseeing many regular plan-related actions, including proper plan documentation, filings, communications and reporting. By delegating this role to the 3(16) fiduciary, an employer has the ability to maintain a compliant plan and reduce their fiduciary risk with respect to this role and its responsibilities.

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“We strongly believe that QBI clients who sponsor qualified retirement plans would benefit by appointing a 3(16) fiduciary to take ownership of this important responsibility,” says Nick Stonnington, QBI president and CEO. “Employers start retirement plans to invest for their futures and those of their employees, not to become compliance experts. Missteps can be costly and distract from the goal. With this service, they have the opportunity to relax about several important fiduciary obligations and focus on what matters most to them.”

The delivery of 3(16) services is possible through a contract between Fiduciary Administration and ERISA SMART. ERISA SMART President and CEO David Donaldson and his staff provide services to take responsibility of important fiduciary tasks, ensuring plans stay on track and allowing sponsors and their advisers to focus instead on helping participants achieve better retirement savings outcomes.

“Many trustees delegate their day-to-day operational responsibilities to employees who are unfamiliar with the complexities and requirements of qualified plan compliance,” Donaldson notes. “The result can be costly in terms of penalties and other legal actions, not to mention the expense of the time it takes company executives to respond to these issues.”

QBI is planning to enact an education campaign in early 2015 to assist financial advisers, accountants, and other industry professionals understand the features and benefits of introducing this service to their clients.

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