Products August 11, 2020

Board Smart Offers Online Training Platform for Public Pension Trustees, Execs

Curriculum topics range from board operations to asset management to risk intelligence.

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After working on a new e-learning resource for public pension plan trustees and executives for more than a year, Board Smart has now launched the platform.

Board Smart notes that the launch is timely, given the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has severely curtailed in-person meetings, which until this point have been the primary way that trustees have learned how to do their jobs and received ongoing education.

The platform showcases 20-minute “Expert Talks” created by a faculty with in-depth knowledge of public pensions: former trustees, system executives, governance and investment experts, actuaries and attorneys. Each of these talks includes a downloadable transcript, system self-assessments, instant nationwide feedback and peer benchmarking, case examples, further resources and references, user forums, and a national public pension policy repository.

“Ensuring trustees have the tools, training and information they need to make sound decisions on highly complex governance and pension issues remains one of the biggest challenges facing retirement systems,” says Rick Funston, Board Smart founder and chief executive officer. “Board Smart is poised to fundamentally change and improve the learning and collaboration experience for trustees. It builds on the on-boarding offered by the systems themselves and provides every trustee with what they need to know and ask about key governance matters. This new tool will help retirement systems strengthen pension fund governance, foster more frequent trustee interactions, generate benchmarking data, save time and reduce travel and meeting costs.”

Curriculum topics range from board operations to asset management to risk intelligence. The tool can be customized both for the retirement system and the individual learner. It tracks completion for continuing education credits and creates system-specific reports. It is being offered on a subscription basis, with a standard subscription providing up to 20 user accounts.

More information is available at www.boardsmart.com.

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Ask the Experts August 11, 2020

Can Plan Sponsors Send Documents Electronically Right Away?

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

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“Now that the Department of Labor (DOL) has released its final rule on e-disclosure, can I go ahead and work with my recordkeeper to start sending covered documents to participants immediately?”

Stacey Bradford, Charles Filips, David Levine and David Powell, with Groom Law Group, and Michael A. Webb, vice president, Retirement Plan Services, Cammack Retirement Group, answer:

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Not quite, keep in mind that covered individuals must be furnished an initial notification on paper informing participants of the new electronic delivery method, the electronic address that will be used, and the right to opt-out of e-disclosure and request paper copies of covered documents. The initial notice must be MAILED to participants before the electronic delivery of covered documents can take place. So you can’t just go ahead and start sending documents to everyone electronically.

Now, you can send out this initial notice immediately. However, assuming that your recordkeeper or third-party administrator (TPA) will be mailing this notice, it may not be ready to do so right now, as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, could make a mass mailing impractical or even impossible at present. You also need to make certain that the recordkeeper/TPA has the proper infrastructure in place so that participants can easily access and read covered documents electronically in accordance with the provisions of the final rule.

However, the rule represents a tremendous opportunity to reduce paper, administrative effort, and expenses, so plan sponsors who wish to adopt the new voluntary safe harbor in the final rule (and incidentally, the old 2002 safe harbor is still available as well) should commence discussions with their recordkeeper/TPA as to how they can implement the safe harbor as efficiently and expediently as possible.

 

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 Rebecca.Moore@issgovernance.com with Subject: Ask the Experts, and the Experts will do their best to answer your question in a future Ask the Experts column.

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