Deals and People June 27, 2023

Corebridge Hires Chris Smith to Replace COO Mia Tarpey

The financial services firm spun off by AIG, which Tarpey will rejoin, has already filled its chief operating officer position.

Reported by

Corebridge Financial Inc. is changing top leadership, as Mia Tarpey, the asset manager’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, will step down from her position at the company as of July 1, the firm disclosed in a securities filing Monday. Tarpey, who began her stint as COO in August 2022, will rejoin Corebridge’s former parent company AIG in an undisclosed role, according to the filing.

Chris Smith will succeed Tarpey in both roles, according to the filing. Smith served as an executive vice president and head of group benefits at the Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America Inc., from 2020 to September 2022, according to the filing.

Get more!  Sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters.

Corebridge and Guardian Life are competitors vying for market share in the mutual life and insurance products space. Both firms offer life insurance products and annuities, distributing via employer-sponsored retirement plans and retirement plan advisers.

Smith’s background in employee benefits and experience with insured products, at both Guardian Life and previously at MetLife, was appealing, according to the filing.  

While at Guardian Life, “Smith leveraged a suite of digital capabilities in leading a large-scale transformation in Guardian’s sales culture,” the filing states. “Smith served in progressive roles at MetLife, Inc. for approximately twenty years.”

After working in several positions, Smith was executive vice president and head of global operations at MetLife from 2013 to 2019.

The filing includes compensation details for Smith. 

Tarpey had been head of the separation management office at AIG from June 2021 to August 2022. Asked for comment, AIG representatives referenced the securities filing and declined to speak further. Corebridge also had no comment.

Ask the Experts June 27, 2023

How To Correct Mistaken Elective Deferral Exclusions

Experts from Groom Law Group and CAPTRUST answer questions concerning retirement plan administration and regulations.

Reported by

Q: We recently discovered that we improperly excluded an employee from the right to make elective deferrals to our 403(b) plan. Do the experts know how we can correct this error?

Kimberly Boberg, Taylor Costanzo, Kelly Geloneck and David Levine, with Groom Law Group, and Michael A. Webb, senior financial adviser at CAPTRUST, answer: 

Get more!  Sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters.

A: We do! Revenue Procedure 2021-30 outlines correction steps based on the length of the exclusion. In many cases, this type of error requires a corrective contribution to the plan to be made by the plan sponsor, equal to (1) a portion of the employee’s missed deferral, plus (2) 100% of any missed matching contributions, plus (3) earnings. However, the contribution under (1) may be avoided completely if:

  • The failure does not exceed three months (or the end of the month after the month during which an affected employee notifies the plan sponsor of the error, if earlier) and notice is provided within 45 days of the date on which correct deferrals begin; or
  • Correct deferrals begin within 9 ½ months after the end of the plan year in which the error first occurred (or the last day of the month after the month during which an affected employee notifies the plan sponsor of the error, if earlier) and notice is provided within 45 days of the date on which correct deferrals begin. (This provision was set to sunset at the end of this year, but it was extended by SECURE 2.0. This provision was also historically applicable only in the automatic enrollment context, and, pending additional guidance to the contrary, there is no clear indication that the SECURE 2.0 provision would be applicable outside the automatic enrollment context.)

In all cases, plan sponsors must also contribute missed matching contributions (if any), plus earnings.

NOTE: This feature is to provide general information only, does not constitute legal advice and cannot be used or substituted for legal or tax advice.

Do YOU have a question for the Experts? If so, we would love to hear from you! Simply forward your question to Amy.Resnick@issgovernance.com with Subject: Ask the Experts, and the Experts will do their best to answer your question in a future column.

«