The Standard Adds PEPs, Auto Step-Up Savings, Other Recordkeeper Services

The Standard, which purchased Securian Financial’s retirement recordkeeping business last October, has introduced seven new products and services to its retirement platform, the firm announced Friday.

The Standard’s retirement services business now offers pooled employer plans, automatic annual “step-up” retirement saving contributions and electronic loan repayments, among other services, as it seeks to leverage its new scale.

“We’ve brought together the best of both organizations—Securian and The Standard—to deliver a comprehensive suite of differentiated products and services,” Jason Burlie, head of retirement plan sales for The Standard, said in a statement.

The new products and services include:

• PEPs, with the goal of making “retirement plan adoption more accessible and attractive to businesses of all sizes.”
  
  
• Automatic Clearing House loan repayment to ease payment processing for employers and participants by allowing direct payment from personal bank accounts.
  
  
• Foreign tax credits can be returned to participant retirement accounts, which will help “lower separate account expenses, which can lead to increased performance for those investments receiving the credits.”
  
  
• Financial wellness resources and enhancements have been made by partnering with third-party provider Enrich, according to The Standard. The platform is designed to provide “personalized and interactive experiences” at no extra cost to the employer or participant.
  
  
• Step-up savings are now an option—at no extra cost—for automatic annual contribution rate increases.
  
  
• Spanish-speaker resources have been increased, including in the company’s online personal savings center.
  
  
• Target age and target risk portfolios have been added to create diversified asset allocations for participants, again at no additional cost.

Securian Financial’s retirement plans comprised $17 billion of assets under administration at the time of the transaction, and The Standard had $29.3 billion in assets under administration.

The Standard runs subsidiaries that include an insurance and annuities business, a mutual fund trust platform, financial recordkeeping and plan administration, and investment advisory services.