The Markets August 5, 2009

QVC Investigates 401(k) Loans

The QVC home shopping network turned away workers at its Rocky Mount, North Carolina, distribution center as part of a probe into whether 401(k) hardship loans they’ve received were legitimate.

Reported by

Raleigh television station WRAL reported that dozens of workers were blocked today as they reported for work. A company spokeswoman said the employees’ 401(k) loans were being scrutinized for possible irregularities. She declined to say how many workers were involved.

The workers told WRAL News they had been put on unpaid leave.

According to the news report, employees received letters instructing them to schedule a meeting with a company loss prevention specialist and HR representative to prove their loans, already paid by Fidelity Investments, were legitimate. “Failure to set up a meeting will indicate your decision to voluntarily resign from the company,” the letter stated.

Workers indicated they had been forced to tap into their retirement plans because the company has imposed a salary freeze, cut back on overtime and hours, and started paying employees bi-weekly, instead of weekly.

Data & Research August 5, 2009

More Small Employers Jump on NQDC Bandwagon

A Principal Financial Group research project has found that nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans are apparently moving down market.

Reported by

A Principal, an NQDC plan provider, said an increasing number of mid-sized and small employers are now offering NQDC plans, in addition to their large-firm brethren, the traditional home of NQDC offerings.    

Principal, which polled both plan sponsors and participants in conjunction with the Boston Research Group, found that 87% of NQDC sponsors are generally satisfied with their recordkeeper, but only half responded that they are “very satisfied.” The NQDC sponsors want recordkeeping providers to offer the latest and best technology to help plans keep up with “administrative challenges,” according to a news release of the results.

Most NQDC sponsors indicated their plan is informally financed using some combination of COLI, mutual funds, other corporate assets, and/or bond or bond funds.

The Principal researchers said trends making the plans more mainstream could translate into more plan sponsor pressure for higher-quality offerings so employers won’t be left behind in efforts to attract and retain key employees.

For example, Principal indicated 64% of employees in NQDC plans say the offering is important to their decision to stay with their current employer. Nine out of 10 (92%) view the plan as important in reaching their retirement goals.

“Employers understand the importance and need for these types of benefits to help key employees prepare for retirement,” Principal wrote in the research report. “As more employers consider nonqualified deferred compensation to be a ‘mainstream’ benefit for their key employees, employers who do not offer these benefits may lose the ability to attract and retain management talent.”

Telephone interviews were conducted with 221 plan sponsors and 303 participants.

The research report is available here.

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