A new pooled employer plan for small- and mid-sized business owners is the result of a recently announced partnership between RBC Wealth Management, Transamerica and FuturePlan by Ascensus.
“RBC Wealth Management is pleased to add the RBC Group Retirement Plan to our broad range of products and services to provide business owners with an easier way to offer 401k plans to their employees,” said Tracy Hanson, Director of Retirement Solutions at RBC Wealth Management – U.S. “An employer-sponsored 401k plan helps to attract and retain employees and provides more American workers with access to essential retirement savings opportunities.”
Open to both existing and start-up 401k plans, the RBC GRP will be distributed solely through RBC Wealth Management in the U.S. RBC Wealth Management will also act as the GRP’s 3(38) investment fiduciary. FuturePlan will serve as the third-party administrator and 3(16) plan administrators, while Transamerica will be the plan’s recordkeeper.
Minneapolis-based RBC Wealth Management has $510 billion in total client assets with more than 2,100 financial advisors operating in 184 locations in 42 states.
The RBC GRP also includes the FuturePlan Fiduciary Assistant program, a proprietary 100-point payroll data integrity check designed to prevent most common plan errors flagged in U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and IRS audits. Fiduciary Assistant works in conjunction with Transamerica’s PayStart approved payroll vendors.
“With more than 20 years of experience in group retirement plans, Transamerica is proud to be a pioneer and stalwart advocate for group retirement solutions,” said Phil Eckman, President of Workplace Solutions at Transamerica. “We offer plan participants a wide array of resources to help save for retirement. Transamerica offers a powerful participant engagement program that includes personalized financial education, an online financial wellness center, and a forecast tool to help participants improve their chances of achieving their retirement savings goals.”
As of June 30, 2022, national retirement TPA FuturePlan supports more than 45,000 retirement plans with more than 1.9 million participants and more than $104 billion in assets under administration.
“We are proud to partner with RBC and Transamerica to help more Americans build financial security through high quality, well-managed retirement plans,” said Kasey Price, President of FuturePlan. “Investing in innovative solutions, such as RBC GRP, furthers our long-term commitment to broadening workplace retirement plan access with cost-efficient options designed to reduce both fiduciary risk and administrative burdens for employers of all sizes, across all sectors of the economy.”
Addressing the plan access problem
According to a 2021 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, just 53% of private industry employers with less than 100 workers offered a retirement savings plan, while 91% of employers with 100 or more workers had a retirement plan.
Many small and mid-sized business owners recognize the value of an employer-sponsored retirement plan as part of a competitive benefits package; however, the regulatory, financial, and administrative challenges associated with offering a retirement plan often deter sponsorship. RBC’s GRP helps alleviate those burdens and makes it easier for small and mid-sized employers to compete with larger employers in attracting and retaining talent.
The 2021 Survey of Income and Program Participation from the U.S. Census Bureau shows disparities in retirement assets by generation, gender, race, and ethnicity, emphasizing the need for broader access to retirement savings opportunities.
The report data showed that in 2020 only 58.1% of working-age Baby Boomers, the generation closest to retirement, had retirement accounts. Men were more likely (47.8%) than women (43.5%) to have a retirement account. 54% of non-Hispanic white individuals had an account, while only 28.3% of Hispanic individuals owned an account.
SEE ALSO:
• 401k Savings in Small Plans Lag Far Behind Bigger Companies
• Transamerica, FuturePlan Team for New Pooled Retirement Plan Solution
Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.
