Benefits April 2, 2013

29% Chose Deferral Higher than Default

April 2, 2013 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Five percent of Section 401(k) plans include an automatic contribution arrangement (ACA), according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 401(k) Compliance Questionnaire.
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Very large and large plans are more likely than medium or small plans to have an automatic contribution arrangement.    

According to the IRS’s final report of responses from its Questionnaire, 43% of participants subject to an ACA deferred at the default rate, while 29% elected a rate higher than the default rate.Twenty-one percent elected not to make elective deferrals, and 7% elected a rate less than the default rate.  

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The Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) final report of responses from its 401(k) Compliance Check Questionnaire includes results reported in the Interim Report (see “IRS Issues Interim Report About 401(k) Compliance Questionnaire”). The Interim Report projected 401(k) Questionnaire findings to the Section 401(k) plan sponsor population that files Form 5500.  

The final report also includes: 

  • Additional analysis of the 401(k) Questionnaire not included in the Interim Report; 
  • A new section about Automatic Contribution Arrangements;  
  • Stratified data highlighting differences in the results based on plan size; and 
  • Updates to the data included in the Interim Report to address questions from the retirement plan community. 

 

The final report is at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/401k_final_report.pdf.
Products April 2, 2013

QPC Buys Pension Plan Services

April 2, 2013 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Qualified Plan Consultants, LLC (QPC) has purchased Pension Plan Services, Inc.
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QPC, an Iowa-based 401k plan consulting and administration firm founded in 2003, will take over full third-party administration 401(k) plan design, consulting and administration services for Pension Plan Services’ 375 plan sponsor clients and their financial advisers.

The acquisition of Pension Plan Services will allow QPC to increase its footprint throughout the Midwest by increasing its access to 401(k) recordkeeping platforms such as MassMutual and Lincoln Financial, and add another 150 financial advisers to its adviser network. Employees of Pension Plan Services, Inc. will be relocated to the QPC office in West Des Moines.

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“Pension Plan Services has provided quality administration and consulting services to its clients for over 20 years,” said QPC co-founder Mick Fouts. “We are very much looking forward to continuing the tradition of providing this high-level service to all their current plan sponsor clients and the plans’ financial advisers.”

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