Products March 16, 2011

The Platinum 401(k) Offers Prospecting Incentive

American Pension Services, Inc. announced a partnership with T3Direct Marketing of Modesto, Calif., which will reimburse advisers for prospecting appointments.  
Reported by

T3Direct Marketing usually charges advisers $695 for its appointment-setting services. But the agreement with American Pension Services will reduce that price by $200 for advisers who introduce the Platinum 401(k) multiple-employer plan solution to potential small to mid-sized defined contribution clients. It also allows the adviser to be 100% reimbursed for the cost of those appointments that become Platinum 401k clients.

Prospecting efforts should focus on plans from $1,000,000 to $10,000,000 in assets that are seeking to eliminate their annual plan audit expenses, outsource plan sponsor and trustee-level fiduciary liability, and benefit from the independent investment oversight of an ERISA 3(38) Investment Manager, according to a press release. More information about the program can be found at www.ThePlatinum401k.com.

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Data & Research March 16, 2011

Study Finds Proof of Stagnation in Auto-Enrollment Adoption

Fifty-five percent of plan sponsors say they have no plans to adopt automatic enrollment in 2011, according to a recently released survey.
Reported by

The Grant Thornton LLP, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, and Plan Sponsor Advisors LLC, survey noted that from 2009 to 2010, use of auto-enrollment increased from 39% to 45%. This year, 33% of respondents reported that they will be offering automatic enrollment with an employer match and an additional 9% said they are providing automatic enrollment without an employer match.  Thirteen percent of plan sponsors said they are also including an automatic increase in default deferral rates.

In addition, the study found 58% of plan sponsors are not considering a Roth feature in their plan. Twenty-eight percent of plan sponsors who indicated that Roth features are being added to their plans in 2010–11 indicated that regulatory updates involving “in-plan Roth rollovers” contributed to the decision.

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Meanwhile, 9% of plan sponsors surveyed are considering the addition of a retirement income solution to provide an ongoing payment stream option for employees. Of the 9%, the response was split almost equally between an in-plan (52%) and out-of-plan (48%) solution.

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