CONTRIBUTION GUIDELINES & ELECTRONIC SPECIFICATIONS

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1 CONTRIBUTION GUIDELINES & ELECTRONIC SPECIFICATIONS This section discusses where and how to send contributions. We do not limit the number or frequency of contributions you may submit. Certain contracts require contribution information be submitted electronically. All contribution information must be sent to the Processing Office, preferably in electronic format. Contributions are credited as of the Business Day of receipt at the proper location, if they are accompanied by properly completed contribution information and are received prior to 4pm EST. Please note: Employee Salary Deferral amounts (also known as 401(k) employee contributions, Roth 401(k) contributions, if applicable and loan repayments must be forwarded to AXA Equitable in accordance with the Department of Labor (DOL) regulations. Under DOL regulations, these contribution types must be forwarded as soon as you can but not later than 15 days after the end of the month during which you withheld the monies from the Participants payrolls. GENERAL INFORMATION For new Plans Only, within 4 days after your Plan is established in our system, a Plan Coordinator will contact you regarding the contribution and data submission process. Contributions will not be allocated to the Investment Options until the monies received are in agreement with the amounts indicated on the corresponding electronic media. If within five (5) days of receipt, we are unable to obtain sufficient information to process the contributions all such amounts will be returned. Contributions will be allocated to the Participant s Investment Options according to the allocation percentages on file. If no allocations are on file or if we receive the initial contribution for a Participant who is enrolled in our system but has not changed his/her investment allocation percentages online, their assets will remain invested in the Plan s Default Option. Amounts in the Forfeiture Account will be reallocated to Participant accounts by dollar amount and in accordance with instructions received from the Authorized Individual of the Plan or from the Plan Trustee, as applicable. SOURCES Each type of money is tracked separately. Generally, sources offered by your Plan document were selected when you completed your application or additional sources may have been elected since then. If your Plan wants to add additional money sources and/or if your Plan s money types do not match the sources provided in the Group Annuity Application, please contact your Retirement Plan Account Manager to add or change the new sources in the system prior to sending us any contributions to ensure contributions are being deposited into the correct sources. SUBMISSION METHODS There are several methods to submit payroll information for processing to Participant accounts. Failure to use the proper transmittal device, or to complete the transmittal device improperly, may result in a delay in crediting contributions. When remitting contributions it is crucial to list the appropriate tax and Plan year.

2 A new feature is the ability to track the payroll information you submit with a reference to the payroll date. Generally the payroll date is the last day of the pay period for which you are submitting payroll information. The acceptable methods are: Internet Submission- Direct Input (Mandatory for certain products) Internet- Payroll file attached Overnight or regular mail INTERNET SUBMISSION (DIRECT INPUT) After you logon to the website under Employer Plan Admin enter your password and accept the Terms and Conditions. You will be brought to the Main Plan Summary Screen and follow the instructions below to input your payroll. If this is your first time inputting contribution information via the Internet, the payroll list will appear and the note No Prior Payrolls will appear. To establish a new payroll, follow the below instructions: Select the Participant Status you wish to include in the Payroll; Select applicable Employee Codes; Select Affiliates, Location, and Payroll Frequency; Select applicable Money Types; Click on the Establish Payroll button to continue.

3 After entering the above criteria, the next screen will ask for the following information: Payroll date this is a new feature. Payroll contribution information for your Participants in the appropriate fields. Click on the Recalculate button to continue only after you have completed entering all of your contribution information. View the totals by Participant and by money type to verify that the numbers are correct. Click on the Save Roster as a Work-In-Progress button to continue only if all you need to exit the screen and do not want to lose your work. For example, if you notice that a participant is missing you can Save Roster as a Work-In-Progress and go to the Participant Add/Update Screen to add the missing Participant and then go back to the Establish New Payroll and continue inputting the contribution information.

4 PAYROLL PROCESSING LINK Go to the left side of the screen and click on the Payroll Processing Link. If this is not the first time inputting contributions, click on the New Payroll button on the Payroll List Screen to begin the process of building a new payroll contribution list. If a payroll already exists, select the Search for a Payroll hyperlink to locate it. To retrieve Payrolls beyond 90 days, use the search for a Payroll link under Payroll List to enter the criteria. Note: You can always search for a payroll using the criteria on the Payroll List Screen. If you would like to view a previously submitted payroll or complete a work-in progress payroll, input your search criteria and select Retrieve Payroll(s). If you would like to reset the criteria back to the Plan s Defaults select Reset to Defaults. Once a payroll roster has been established and confirmed, it can be used for submitting and building future payroll contributions by modeling. To model or copy a payroll from an existing payroll, click on the desired payroll you wish to model, and then click on the Model Payroll button. When modeling a payroll be sure to enter the new payroll date in the payroll date field. If there are any changes from the previous payroll, they can be made on this screen. Then follow the same steps on the slides as Building a Payroll. Either save it as a Work-in-Progress or Transmit Completed Payroll.

5 To save the payroll, click on the Yes button to continue. Any applicable notes for your reference only can be added to the Payroll that remains as a Work in Progress. For example, you may want to add a note stating this contribution is a quarterly match. Please note, the notes entered can only be viewed by you, the Plan sponsor. After the notes have been added and the Payroll has been saved, return to the Establish Payroll Screen where you can continue to work on the payroll or click on the hyperlink to return to the Payroll List.

6 Once you are back at the Payroll List screen, to process the Work in Progress Payroll, click on the desired Payroll, then click on the Edit Payroll button to process the payroll. If you do not have any information to update and are finished with your Payroll input, select the Edit Payroll button. Once all changes and updates have been made and the payment type has been selected, click on the Transmit Completed Payroll button to continue.

7 A confirmation can be sent from this screen. It can also be sent to multiple addresses such as your payroll vendor or TPA. After you complete this information, you are prompted, do you want to submit this payroll? If yes, then select yes. For additional quality assurance, click on the Return to Payroll List link. Your payroll will display on the web as a held status until we receive the monies. If you have been approved for ACH, you will see your payroll as a pending status. Please note: After clicking Continue Transmitting Payroll, you may encounter a warning. The warning detail will provide the warning description with the associated Participant s Social Security Number. By clicking the Display Warnings Link the Transmit Error window displays a description of what the warning is. Example warnings could include: Warning: Participant has plan default allocations; Warning: Pending transactions: A Participant requested a transfer among investment options at the same time you transmitted a payroll. You can continue transmitting the payroll under certain warning conditions. After correcting any inaccurate or insufficient data, transmit the payroll by selecting Transmit Payroll.

8 The system allows you to bypass warnings, however, any errors that are received cannot be bypassed. An example of an error is if the total of a Participant s employee contribution exceeds the 402g limit for the calendar year, that Participant will be removed from the payroll. If you encounter an error, please call with the error number for a resolution. The Confirmation Page should be printed and retained as a record of receipt for your records, or if you are sending in a check this page must accompany your check. The Payroll List screen provides all the payroll contribution information that has been entered. A successfully transmitted Payroll will display Pending status on the Payroll List Screen. At this point, you can only View a payroll that has been transmitted and is in Pending status.

9 ROLLOVER CONTRIBUTIONS (IF YOUR PLAN PERMITS) An employee (or surviving spouse) who has received a qualified distribution from another qualified plan, 403(b), Governmental 457(b) Plan or an IRA (including SEP/SARSEP, and Simple IRAs) may be able to rollover their distribution into this Plan. Generally, the employee does not have to be a Participant in your Plan or be eligible to participate at this time, in order to make a rollover contribution. Check your Plan Document to verify. Generally, distributions must be rolled over within sixty (60) days after being disbursed to retain a tax-deferred status. The IRS may waive the sixty (60) day roll over period requirement in certain instances. Participants must consult with their tax/legal adviser. The rollover contribution remittance may be either: The original distribution check, made payable to AXA Equitable; or A personal check (or cashier s check) for the rollover amount from the Participant payee who received the distribution, made payable to AXA Equitable*. * Generally, this means that the employee/participant received only 80% of the distribution from the prior Plan (due to the 20% mandatory withholding). Find out from the employee/participant whether the check equals the amount received (80%) or 100% of the eligible rollover amount. If an individual receives an eligible rollover distribution and subsequently elects to roll over the assets within 60 days, the individual can make up the 20% which was withheld for federal income tax purposes. FUNDING A CONTRIBUTION WITH FORFEITURE AMOUNTS If your Plan permits, you can partially fund a payroll roster using available assets from the Plan s forfeiture account. The forfeiture account will automatically redeem the amount requested to offset differences funded by Plan via ACH funding, wire, or check. If you try to insert a dollar amount to use from forfeiture that is insufficient you will receive an error message and will be prompted to insert another dollar amount. The Establish New Roster Screen shows the available balance of the forfeiture account; to use it, click on the Fund with Forfeiture box and enter the dollar amount you want to use. If the amount in the forfeiture account is not sufficient to cover the total contribution amount, another method of funding needs to be checked. Once payroll roster is completed, Plan Sponsor clicks Transmit Payroll, then the forfeiture account to Fund Roster page appears, which displays the Plan forfeiture accounts with available balances. Plan Sponsor enters the dollar amount in applicable Forfeiture Account box, clicks Recalculate Totals, then the Total Payroll funding balances will be displayed. The Plan Sponsor will then click on Continue with Transmit.

10 INSTRUCTIONS You also have the option to your payroll information to us at REQUIREMENTS 1. Internet with access. 2. The name of the file you are ing. If you use to send your data, please include your Plan number (Contract ID) in the subject line. The should also contain the total amount of each source you are transmitting, the funding method and approximately when the payment, can be expected. The next step is to attach the file you wish to send. Some packages have a paper clip icon, some require you to use the menu bar at the top of the screen and still others actually have a button labeled Attachment. Choose the appropriate means and attach the file. We will acknowledge receipt of the file in a return and note any problems or questions concerning the file. If you experience any difficulties, or you have questions, contact your Retirement Plan Account Manager Specialist. DISK/PAPER As always, you can continue to create your payroll information on disk/paper listing and mail it to our Processing Office. Please be sure to include instructions on how you plan to fund the payroll roster check, wire, or ACH debit. MICROSOFT EXCEL OR ASCII (COMMA DELIMITED) Call a Retirement Plan Account Manager if you need a sample layout copy of the format. Please note: If you want to import an MS Excel file directly to Employer Plan Admin you must use Microsoft s Internet Explorer Version 5.0 or higher as your web browser. METHODS FOR FUNDING Payroll deduction information can be funded via the following methods: ACH Debit Wire Check Note: Contributions will not be invested until the dollar amounts are in agreement with corresponding source document form, diskette or electronic data file. ACH DEBIT Our preferred method to receive contributions is through Automated Clearing House (ACH) Debit Transfer. ACH is a form of electronic payment. ACH is designed to be an e-check or electronic check. The money is automatically sent to AXA Equitable once you submit your payroll via the Internet. You have the option to draw the monies from more than one account.

11 If you want multiple accounts to be used to fund your contributions, you need to complete Banking Information separately for each account and attach voided checks for each account. To elect the ACH feature for your Plan, send us the ACH Authorization Form located in the Custom Forms section on EQSponsor. Please allow a five-day prenote period for the initial establishment of ACH in your Plan. WIRE Receiving Bank Information State Street Bank and Trust Company 225 Franklin Street Boston, Massachusetts ABA Routing No.: DDA Acct No.: Attn: AXA Equitable TRAC Account For Credit: AXA Equitable FBO: Your Plan Name and Contract ID Once you send AXA Equitable the wire, the source document for this contribution must be submitted. This source document, diskette, , or upload via the AXA Equitable web site should contain the Participant s name, Participant s social security number, source of contribution, and total amount of contribution for each Participant in alphabetical or social security number order. CHECK All checks should be made payable to AXA Equitable and must be sent to our processing office. Regular Mail AXA Equitable Defined Contribution Services PO Box 8095 Boston, MA Express Mail AXA Equitable Defined Contribution Services 30 Dan Road Canton, MA