Welcome to Solomon!

Enter the Access Code below

Access code is invalid

Solomon Logo

For assistance, problems or questions, please email us.

solomon@reliant.org

Versions Compared

Old Version 5

changes.mady.by.user Barb Seckler

Saved on

compared with

New Version 6

changes.mady.by.user Barb Seckler

Saved on

Key

  • This line was added.
  • This line was removed.
  • Formatting was changed.
Note
titleAre you covered?

When buying insurance policies you often have choices between different types of coverage. 

Coverage typically starts with a basic plan and then you have options to upgrade your coverage to add additional features for an additional cost. 

We've tailored a checklist for your Retirement Plan this year using this theme of insurance coverage packages. 

For every "coverage" package you review & you complete, please fill out the google form and you will be entered in a drawing for gift card drawings.

Image Removed

Why the change?

We are so thankful for the overwhleming response to last week's survey. Our employees are either 1) really excited about this change or 2) really excited about a chance to win the Lego Christmas ornament book and $100 Amazon gift card. Whatever the motivation was, we received a lot of good feedback! We're going to take the next few weeks to help unpack some FAQs about this change in more detail.

The most frequent response we received from our survey was that employees were tuned in and listening and either excited or curious to know more.  The top 5 questions we received are listed below with answers. We're also going to host a Zoom webinar on the evening of September 20th at 7:00PM that will be co-hosted by Reliant's retirement plan broker, Michael Clark and Reliant's Director of Finance teams, Barb Seckler. Michael is a licensed financial advisor that helps us manage our retrirement plan. He's been serving Reliant for close to 15 years and has been an important counselor to us as we've carefully researched this decision to transfer to the 403(b)(9) plan. Save the date on your calendar and join us (we'll send a Zoom link in next week's email) for a great evening of information and all attendees will receive an additional entry into our prize drawings.

...



(Didn't get a chance to fill out our survey yet - it's still open. Heres' the link: https://a.co/d/dPxD54k)


UI Expand
titleWill our current 401k be transferred to the new 403(b)(9) automatically? Basic Coverage

Every year it's helpful to take time to log in to your 403(b) account with Principal and review these things. 

Yes, Reliant will be working with Principal to transfer our employees' existing 401(k) balances
  • into the 403(b)
(9) plan. No action is needed by employees.  
UI Expand
titleWill my investment options change?
No, the investment options will remain the same


UI Expand
titleWhy the change from a 401(k) to a 403(b)(9)?Standard Coverage

Employees of Reliant have two options for an employer contribution, based on their employee type and fundraising goal model.

In both cases, the funds used for the employer contribution are raised as a part of the employee's goal.

Find the option below that best fits your role and review the steps we recommend to ensure you're getting the best benefit for your situation.

  •  Career employees are eligible for a 5% employer-match.  If you are not contributing 5% of your eligible wages to 403(b) then you are missing out on the opportunity be matched 5% and increase your retirement savings. Review your budget and consider increasing your personal contribution if this applies to you, to ensure you're getting the maximum 5% match benefit. 
  •  Fixed term employees - This class of employees have a special 
Historically, 403(b) plans have been the retirement plan option that the majority of non-profits offer. When selecting our existing 401(k) plan years ago, Reliant wanted to offer a retirement plan that was more "main-stream" for employees - so we selected a 401(k). At that time, Reliant also wanted some features that were only available in a 401(k) plan. Times have changed! In most cases, today's 403(b) plans are widely used and understood in the retirement planning world. Many large hospitals and universities have 403(b) retirement plans. Also, changes in legislation for retirement plans have made the the reasons we previously preferred the 401(k) plan to a 403(b) plan obsolete. The two types of plans have become extremely similar yet 403(b) plans now offer a few additional features that are advantageous to non-profits such as Reliant. The 403(b)(9) plan is a type of 403(b) plan specifically set-up for churches and religious non-profits with a parsonage withdrawal distribution option "built-in" to the plan. That option will make parsonage distributions easier for retiring Commissioned and Ordained Ministers.  Our next answer (below) explains some of the "pros" to this plan that we are excited about.  


UI Expand
titleWhat are the pros and cons of a 403(b)(9)?

One "pro" of a 403(b) plan is that it isn't subject to some compliance rules that 401(k) plans have. What this "pro" means for Reliant is that we can customize our plan for different program teams based on the unique needs of those groups of employees. For example, we're varying eligibility rules and the employer contribution for Fixed Term employees in residency programs vs our more traditional "career" employees. This flexibility will allow those different types of employes to have a retirement plan that is customized for them, rather than being forced into a "one size fits all" plan like our previous 401(k), due to the compliance rules associated with it. Another "pro" is the built-in parsonage withdrawal option (mentioned in Answer 3 above). One "con" of a 403(b) is certain types of investments are restricted from being offered within a 403(b).  We researched our current investment options with our retirment plan broker, Michael Clark, and he felt confidant the offerings we currently have and any future investment options that we'd want will still be available under the 403(b)(9). Another con is sometimes 403(b) plans have higher fees but, we have been assured our fees with Principal won't be affected by this change.    

...