1. What is an Automatic Enrollment Arrangement?
Traditionally, defined contribution retirement plans have required employees to affirmatively choose to save money in the plan through salary deferral. Today’s plans that adopt Automatic Enrollment are encouraging employees to save by making salary deferral the default, requiring them to opt-out or choose not to contribute to the plan.2. What are the different types of Automatic Enrollment Arrangements?
Arrangement Type
|
Features – Must be stated in the Plan
Document and timely communicated to employees
|
Basic
Automatic Enrollment
|
·
Employees
will be auto enrolled unless they opt-out.
·
Specifies
the percentage of an employee’s wages that will be automatically deducted.
·
Employees
may choose not to withhold salary deferrals, or to elect a different
percentage to be withheld.
|
Eligible Automatic Contribution Arrangement
(EACA)
|
·
Similar
to the Basic Automatic Enrollment, but has specific notice requirements.
·
An
EACA can allow automatically enrolled participants to withdraw their
contributions within 30-90 days of the first contribution.
|
Qualified
Automatic Contribution Arrangement (QACA)
|
·
A
type of Automatic Enrollment that provides a safe-harbor to avoid anti-discrimination
testing (ACP, ADP and Top-Heavy).
·
Minimum
employee automatic contribution of 3% in initial year, with annual increases
to a minimum of 6% and a maximum of 10%.
·
Employer
contributes either a 3% non-elective contribution, or matches 100% of the
first 1% of compensation deferred and 50% of deferrals that exceed 1% of
compensation, not to exceed 6% of compensation.
·
Employer
contribution 100% vested in 2-years.
·
Specific
employee notices are required.
|
3. When must an employer provide notice of the retirement plan’s automatic contribution arrangement to an employee?
If the Plan uses an EACA or a QACA, the employer must notify all eligible employees between 30 and 90 days of the beginning of the plan year. For plans that auto enroll employees immediately upon being hired, an employer may give employees the notice on their hire date. If that is not practical, they can meet the notice requirements by:- giving notice to the employee before the pay date for the pay period in which the employee becomes eligible; and
- allowing the employee to make deferrals from any compensation they received after becoming eligible.
4. How is the money invested when an employee is auto-enrolled?
For employees who do not make an affirmative investment selection from the Plan’s investment menu (happens frequently in Plans with auto enrollment), the plan sponsor can direct their salary deferrals into a Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA). Created by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the QDIA carries some fiduciary protection from liability, for investments in one of the following:- Target Retirement Date or Lifecycle Funds that change the investment mix among several asset classes based on the individual employee’s age, projected retirement date or life expectancy.
- A product with an investment mix that takes into account the needs of the group of employees in the Plan as a whole. (e.g. a Balanced Fund made up of stocks, bonds and cash equivalents).
- A professionally-managed account made up from the Plan’s investment menu and taking into account the individual employee’s age or expected retirement date.
- A capital preservation fund (only allowed for the first 120 days of participation).
5. Can an employee opt-out of Auto Enrollment?
Yes. The basic automatic enrollment arrangement allows employees to opt-out of auto enrollment, but access to their account is determined by the Plan’s distribution provisions. If the Plan contains an EACA an auto enrolled employee can opt-out and request return of their automatic salary deferrals no less than 30, and no more than 90 days after the first salary deferral. An EACA requires the plan sponsor to provide employees 30-90 days advanced notice explaining the arrangement and all the employee’s rights.6. What are the advantages of Automatic Enrollment for the plan sponsor?
- The employer is making an important life decision for employees about saving for retirement – a decision many fail to make on their own.
- Encourages employees to prepare for retirement, possibly reducing the costs associated with an aging workforce.
- Increases plan participation and favorable impact on anti-discrimination testing.
- For sponsors who wish to allow highly compensated employees to defer the maximum amounts, a QACA creates a safe-harbor avoiding anti-discrimination testing.
- Significant tax advantages for employers subject to corporate tax, including deduction of employer contributions.
