§403(b) Regulations

The long-awaited Finalized §403(b) Regulations have been issued with a general effective date of 1/1/2009.  For the first time in 43 years, the landscape of 403(b) plans has changed and The Legend Group stands ready to guide you through the next 17 months and beyond.

The Pension & Retirement Plan experts at The Legend Group are at work diligently reviewing the 131 pages of final regulations and will continue to keep you informed as to your expanded responsibilities as an employer and, more importantly, to provide solutions to help you meet these new requirements.

CHOICES: The Legend Group is fully prepared to provide the wide choice of investment options that your employees have enjoyed in the past.  There is no need to eliminate vendors.  Legend offers its unique custodial §403(b) account that allows a participant to invest in multiple fund families within one custodial account.  We will also offer the fund groups that continue to maintain custodial accounts and any independent fixed and variable annuities that remain in the marketplace.  In addition, Legend offers Roth §403(b) options, a custodial §457 plan, and after-tax options such as disability insurance, long-term care insurance and §529 college savings plans. 

One of the more pressing issues to be addressed is the allocation of plan responsibilities and administrative functions to facilitate the recordkeeping and compliance requirements mandated by the finalized regs.  This will necessitate the sharing of data among vendors and, ultimately, the party appointed to ensure your compliance (i.e. the “gatekeeper”).

Over the past 20 years, we have refined the technological capabilities to accomplish all of these recordkeeping tasks.  We currently receive position and activity data from some of the most recognized vendors in the industry, including Nationwide, Hartford, ING, Prudential, John Hancock, Fidelity – and dozens of others.  This provides us with the unique ability to communicate this pertinent information to whoever is selected to serve as compliance gatekeeper for your plan.

For over 40 years, The Legend Group has been administrating 403(b) plans and we will continue to do everything possible to ensure that you and your employees receive the excellent service you have come to expect.  Please visit our website at http://www.403bregulations.com for additional information or one of the following:

http://benefitslink.com/taxregs/final_403b.pdf & http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/rne_se0707.pdf  

Contact Dawn Robins at The Legend Group by or phone (561) 694-0110 with any questions or concerns.

 

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