Deals & People June 21, 2024

Retirement Industry People Moves – 6/21/24

Ascensus names regional VP for retirement sales; Nowak promoted to DC director at Marquette; Alerus names health and welfare sales consultant; and more. 

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Ascensus Appoints Regional VP to Support Retirement Sales

Ascensus has appointed Maggy Flowers as regional vice president for the Southwest.

Flowers will work with advisers and expand on new and existing opportunities in Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada, according to an Ascensus press release. Flowers reports to Lori Zeman, division vice president for the Western region.

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“We’re fortunate to have the opportunity to further develop our sales team with the addition of Maggy and her established skills in creating and providing value to everyone she works with,” Zeman said. “We’re on a mission to help more savers save more, and with Maggy covering important states in the Southwest region, she will only increase our momentum towards that goal.”

Marquette Makes Nowak DC Director

Matthew Nowak

Investing consultant Marquette Associates promoted Matthew Nowak to associate director of defined contribution, effective June 1, according to the firm.

Nowak was previously an assistant vice president and defined contribution specialist.

Alerus Hires Consultant 

Larry Maistelman

Alerus Financial announced it has hired Larry Maistelman as a health and welfare sales consultant. Maistelman works directly with health insurance brokers, consultants and employers throughout New York, New England and the Southeast to develop benefits programs.

He reports to Sean Kadel, director of health and welfare sales at Alerus, according to an Alerus press release. Prior to Alerus, Maistelman was a regional sales manager at Benefit Resource Inc.

Empower Hires Emmy Award-Winning Broadcaster to Deliver Financial Insights

Vanessa Welch

Empower announced it has appointed broadcaster Vanessa Welch as vice president of financial insights. 

In the newly created role, Welch will work with Empower’s business teams to help stakeholders understand the meaning and implications of financial concepts and how individuals can improve their own financial security, according to an Empower press release.

“Vanessa has all the tools and expertise to help Empower serve as a beacon of clarity and a source of insights to help more people achieve a better understanding of the financial services they need and want,” said Edmund F. Murphy III, CEO and president of Empower.

Welch joined Empower, effective June 3 from television station WFXT Boston 25 News, which is a Fox network affiliate. She reports to Steve Gawlik, senior vice president for corporate affairs. For Welch’s work as a broadcaster, she has won eight Emmy awards.

Empower Appoints Head of Large, Mega and Not-For-Profit Segment

Casey Craig

Empower announced it promoted Casey Craig, effective July 1, to executive vice president leading large, mega and not-for-profit retirement plan segments.

Craig will replace Bill McDermott, who will retire, according to a press release. He was previously a vice president and head of sales for large, mega and not-for-profit segments at Empower. Craig will report to Rich Linton, president and chief operating officer of Empower.

“Casey has deep experience working across the marketplace with consultants, advisers and plan sponsors,” said Linton. “He brings a wealth of industry expertise and an outstanding track record of advocating for client service. He has impressive instincts on how to help clients build the retirement plans they need for their employees.”

Alternatives Investment Manager Hires Samantha DeZur

Samantha DeZur

Millennium Management has hired Samantha DeZur as head of public policy, according to a company spokesperson.

Prior to joining the investment manager, specializing in alternative asset management, DeZur was the head of regulatory affairs and capital markets policy at BlackRock.

Smith Joins Park Avenue Capital

Brad Smith

Brad Smith has joined Northwestern Mutual’s private client group Park Avenue Capital, as a principal.

Smith is a certified financial planner, specializing in financial planning, retirement income and estate preservation strategies for high-net-worth families and businesses, Park Avenue Capital said in a press release.

Smith reports to Peter Tiboris, CEO and partner at Park Avenue Capital.  

“Brad and his staff are a great addition to Park Avenue Capital, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge to our advisory team,” said Tiboris.

Compliance June 21, 2024

SECURE 2.0 Lost and Found Proposal Faces Industry Headwinds

ERIC and SPARK argue that the DOL’s data request goes beyond the intent of the statute and may create participant data security risks.

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Major industry leaders expressed concern this week about the breadth of the Department of Labor’s data request to create the lost and found database for missing retirement plans, as required by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022.

The DOL issued an information request in April asking interested parties to comment on what information the DOL should collect to make a lost and found database possible to unite missing participants with their plans, while also imposing the least burden possible on fiduciaries. The request also proposed some items that sponsors should voluntarily turn over to the DOL, including participant names and Social Security numbers, contact information and whether they have received their benefits already, among other items. The comment period for this request and proposal expired on June 17.

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The ERISA Industry Committee characterized the request as a “lost and found data grab.” In an emailed statement, ERIC said that: “The proposal requests far more information from plan administrators than necessary and exceeds the authority permitted under the statute. The proposal lacks details about how the DOL will safeguard worker and retiree data and does not include a process for notifying plan administrators and plan participants in the case of a data breach.”

In their comment letter, ERIC elaborated that: “For example, DOL simply does need to know the nature, form, and amount of the benefits owed in order to help a participant locate a plan administrator.” Further, ERIC noted that this information is beyond what is authorized in the statute.

ERIC also implored the DOL to continue to coordinate its efforts with the Internal Revenue Service to reduce administrative burden on providers, by obtaining information from Form 8955-SSA, a form that identifies separated participants with vested benefits.

In the information request, the DOL indicated that the IRS did not have the legal authority to share this form with the DOL to create the database and contact participants.

ERIC responded by writing: “It is unclear why much of the requested information could not be provided by the IRS using data provided on the Form 8955-SSA.” It added that it “is difficult to understand why much of the information could not be provided in a redacted or modified form, or some other arrangement reached. Additionally, to the extent that the IRS’ reticence is attributable to a perceived intent to conduct proactive outreach to participants using this data (which the statute does not authorize), DOL should clarify it does not intend such communications.”

Form 8955-SSA is already shared by the IRS with the Social Security Administration, hence the SSA in the form’s name. When retirees claim Social Security benefits, the SSA uses the filing to inform them of their unclaimed benefits.

The Society of Professional Asset Managers and Recordkeepers also weighed in. In its letter, they asked the DOL to permit recordkeepers to send the participant information over instead of plan sponsors.

SPARK also warned the DOL of the risk of false positives, or participants who see that they are entitled to benefits to which they are not actually entitled, because the benefits were distributed in the past and the records were not updated to reflect that fact in the database.

Lastly, SPARK urged the DOL not to rush to meet the statutory deadline of December 29, 2024. SPARK recommended that the DOL explore an interim option before creating a more thorough platform later. The industry group explained that requiring sponsors to use their 2023 Form 5500, due at this year’s end, would be unmanageable for plan sponsors since the database regulations are not even complete yet and sponsors will not have the time to turn over all the requested information.

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