Employee Information Gathering & Census Processing for Recordkeepers. Chris Robino ERISA Counsel, DST

Transcription

1 Employee Information Gathering & Census Processing for Recordkeepers Chris Robino ERISA Counsel, DST Maggie Younis Senior Consultant, Lincoln Financial Group

2 Agenda Importance of Census Data Data Integrity/Red Flags Pre-Contribution Quality Controls Payroll Integration Partial vs. Full Census Staffing Models Best Practices

3 Audience Survey What type of services do you provide? A) Eligibility Determination B) Automatic Enrollment C) Automatic Increase Is it system driven or manual? A) System B) Manual

4 Importance of Census Data Census Data Full Legal Name SSN Address Date of Birth Original Date of Hire (multiple employment history indicators) Date of Termination Date of Re-Hire Compensation Hours Worked Contributions (Pre-Tax, Roth, Match, Employer) Uses of Census Data Eligibility Vesting Investing age based default investments Contributions Distributions Compliance Plan Design Analysis Plan Health Reporting benchmark against industry and market segments Benchmarking against Recordkeeper client base

5 Data Integrity - Personally Identifiable Information (PII) - Who is authorized to handle the files/information? - Does Recordkeeper have secured websites, use of protected files, encrypted s/files? OFAC Anti-money Laundering Privacy Cyber Security

6 Audience Survey Do you have an in-house dedicated payroll team or do you outsource the service? A) In-house dedicated payroll B) Outsource Does it depend on the complexity of the client? A) Yes B) No

7 Pre-Contribution Quality Controls Most Recordkeepers receive a preliminary file and perform a data scrub Generally request a test payroll file (standard or custom format depending on service level) Conduct separate payroll calls during the implementation process to discuss issues/errors Sometimes a change of payroll providers is necessary depending on the complexity of the plan and that data required

8 Audience Survey Do you provide for Payroll Integration? A) Partial B) Full (360 Integration)

9 Payroll Integration Reduce costs Reduce manual process Increase security (fewer people touching the files) Recordkeeper/TPA usually works directly with payroll provider Still manual intervention Quality does system catch errors if fully automated?

10 Partial vs. Full Census Full Census Complete file uploaded with each payroll Usually required if Recordkeeper is determining eligibility, contributions, vesting Depends on Recordkeeper and how employment history is captured (can system track changes vs. override data?) Partial Census Only provided when changes occur Typically more manual for plan sponsor vs. complete payroll file Depends on Recordkeeping system if a change file results in more accurate tracking

11 Staffing Models In general most Recordkeepers are segmented by function and the services depend on size of plan and/or level of support plan sponsor chooses (vary by price and firm) Small/Micro Market plans Institutional/Large Market plans Some Recordkeepers and many TPAs provide a more general approach and manage a book of business, they do not focus on function Typically more automation/self-service with payroll

12 Audience Survey What type of staffing model do you use? A) Segmented by function (payroll, distribution) B) Reps are assigned a book of business and handle all aspects of the plan

13 Staffing Models Small/Micro Market Pooled processing team approach to review errors Usually requires use of a standard payroll file layout Delivery through a secured website Leverage of functional teams (operations, compliance, relationship mgmt) to manage the plan administration across a large number of plans System may have alerts to remind plan sponsors to remit payroll based on schedule Institutional/Large Market Assigned a dedicated team Customized payroll file layout based on data client can provide and/or client preferred format Greater familiarity with the client and plan, resulting in more efficient plan administration - high touch customer service Better monitoring for delinquent contributions, rep knows the payroll schedule/timing and can send reminders Provide eligibility, automatic enrollment tracking

14 Thank You Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation and its affiliates. Affiliates are separately responsible for their own financial and contractual obligations.