Principal Develops Plan Tools for Growing Businesses

Principal Financial Group has released a program that gives fledgling businesses some of the same retirement plan tools available to large plans, such as flexible participant services and retirement savings options.
According to a company press release, Principal Advantage for Emerging Businesses is only available through third party administrators (TPAs) and uses the Principal Advantage investment platform.
One feature of the program is access to registered investment options sub-advised by investment managers and selected and monitored by Principal’s due diligence program. Plan types include 401(k), Safe Harbor401(k), SIMPLE 401(k), 403(b), Profit Sharing (including Comparability) and Money Purchase.
Some of the other program features include:
  • Smart Start, which allows employers to set a pre-selected salary deferral percentage;
  • The Principal Step-Ahead Retirement Option, which provides an automatic, effortless way to increase contributions;
  • Flexible Enrollment Options, that give participants three ways to enroll: an enrollment form; online; or through their current enrollment kit;
  • Educational tools such as the Enrollment Workbook and Salary Deferral Slide Calculator to facilitate planning; and
  • A quarterly magazine that provides information on saving and investing.
For more information, visit www.principal.com.

Ceridian to Go Private in Acquisition

Human resources outsourcer Ceridian Corp., under pressure from an activist hedge fund, agreed to be bought by private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners and Fidelity National Financial Inc.
Ceridian said in a statement that it had conducted a “comprehensive review process” in which it evaluated a “number of strategic alternatives available” including options related to Comdata.
Ceridian had been battling with Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund and major shareholder, which wanted the company to spin off its Comdata division and replace its board. Last month the firm announced that it fired the President of its Comdata division on allegations that he held unauthorized meetings and disclosed confidential information to Pershing over a possible Comdata spinoff.
Minneapolis-based Ceridian’s main human resources outsourcing division offers payroll, benefits administration, and other services to companies. Comdata offers payment processing and is an issuer of credit cards and debit cards. Its serves 25 million employees and 110,000 companies in 38 countries worldwide, including a majority of the Fortune 500. Ceridian’s Comdata division is a major payment processor and issuer of credit, debit and stored value cards, primarily for the trucking and retail industries in the U.S.
Last year, the Newport Group agreed to buy a major part of Ceridian’s Retirement Plan Services recordkeeping and administration business.
As part of the deal, Ceridian shareholders will get $36 in cash, about 17% more than the stock’s closing price on February 12th of this year, just before the company announced it was pursuing strategic alternatives to maximize shareholders’ value.
The deal is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

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