Compliance March 26, 2024

New Chair, Governing Board Elected at SPARK Institute

Joseph Smolen will take over as SPARK’s new board chair.

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The Society of Professional Asset Managers and Recordkeepers announced the election of new governing board officers.

Joseph Smolen, the executive vice president of core and institutional markets at Empower, will become the new governing board chair.

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Smolen said SPARK’s historical advocacy for Washington’s recent advances in retirement legislation, such as the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 and the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, offer great promise for retirement plan participants and a lot of work ahead for the SPARK membership.

“I look forward to helping SPARK members navigate the road ahead as new and better policy opportunities await us,” he said in a statement.

Smolen replaces outgoing chair Kevin Collins, head of U.S. Intermediaries at T. Rowe Price. Collins had been chair since November 2022 and is credited with starting the retirement income, financial literacy and fraud prevention committees at SPARK.

Todd McGrath was elected to be the vice chair of the governing board. McGrath is the managing director and chief operating officer of Corebridge’s financial retirement division.

Michael Miller was elected treasurer. He works as managing director and head of defined contribution solutions at PGIM.

Ask the Experts March 26, 2024

What Organizations Can Sponsor a 403(b) Plan?

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

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Q: I work at a brand-new chamber of commerce organized under Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code. Can we sponsor a 403(b) plan? If not, what type of retirement plans can we sponsor?

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

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A: This is an excellent question, as it is often a source of confusion. Although tax-exempt charitable organizations under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) can sponsor a 403(b) plan, other types of 501(c) organizations, such as 501(c)(6) chambers of commerce, generally cannot.

However, 501(c)(6) organizations can sponsor other types of retirement plans, such as 401(a), 401(k) and 457(b) plans.

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.

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