‘Retirement Plan Exchange’ Debuts from Transamerica, UBS

Transamerica announced today that the company launched a new “Retirement Plan Exchange” featuring the UBS Retirement Plan Manager program.

Available solely through UBS Financial Advisors, the Exchange is primarily geared for small and mid-sized businesses, and it allows employers to reduce their administrative burden, mitigate certain risks, and benefit from economies of scale. Their employees enjoy the benefits of a workplace retirement plan and the tax-deferred advantages of a typical 401k plan.

UBS Retirement Plan Manager (RPM) is an advisory program that offers discretionary investment management, with UBS acting as an investment manager under ERISA Section 3(38). In addition, Knoxville, Tenn.-based TAG Resources, an industry leader in pooled retirement structures, will serve as the plan’s 402(a) and 3(16) fiduciary and manage the plan’s day-to-day administrative duties.

Retirement Plan Exchange is not a multiple employer plan (MEP). Unlike a MEP, certain plan qualification and ERISA requirements are applied at the individual plan level. An employer participating in an Exchange retains certain fiduciary responsibilities, including responsibility for retaining and monitoring the 3(16) plan administrator, for determining the reasonableness of its fees, and for periodically reviewing the Exchange as a whole.

“UBS is excited to introduce business owners to a powerful workplace retirement plan solution that offers similar services and economies of scale that are typically only enjoyed by large corporations,” said Gene Silverman, Executive Director, Head of Retirement Plan Services at UBS. “The services included in the Exchange enable employers to retain expert plan service providers to assist them in carrying out their fiduciary responsibilities and allow them to spend more time running their business. For employees, the timing couldn’t be better as they are likely eager to save through a workplace retirement plan coming out of one of the most challenging economic times of their lives.”

Switzerland-based UBS, which bills itself as “the largest truly global wealth manager,” provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide.

For its part, Transamerica said it is thrilled to partner with UBS—known for its investment expertise—on its Retirement Plan Exchange.

“Transamerica is a pioneer for pooled retirement plans with 20 years of experience. Together with TAG Resources, we share a common vision of making it possible for more companies to offer retirement plans to their employees,” said Kent Callahan, CEO of Workplace Solutions for Transamerica. “By offering this Retirement Plan Exchange, we are demonstrating our shared commitment to finding innovative solutions that meet the needs of UBS’s business owner clients and their employees.”