Products September 19, 2016

IFS Releases Toolkit to Help Advisers With Fiduciary Rule

'The DOL Advisor Toolkit' provides tools that will guarantee advisers act in compliance with the new fiduciary rule.
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Impact Financial Systems (IFS) has announced the release of their ‘DOL Advisor Toolkit,’ a system created to assist advisers in light of the Department of Labor (DOL’s) new Fiduciary Rule, which requires all advisers working with qualified retirement plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to act as fiduciaries.

The kit, which will help advisers build action plans, follow growth towards compliance and identify business effects made by the rule, has been in the works since speculation of a new standard began last year.

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Among the services provided in the DOL Advisor Toolkit are account reviews and assessments, documentation and audit trails including the distribution of best interest contract (BIC) disclosures, automated compliance actions and more.

“The DOL Advisor Toolkit enables advisers to identify and manage existing account affected by the legislation, execute required disclosures and track progress towards compliance in one place,” says Ray Mulligan, managing editor of Product Strategy at IFS. “What’s more, the tool is designed to give advisers a holistic view of their book of business so that they can assess priorities and assure that clients select the right products to meet their needs.”

To learn more about the toolkit, visit here. 

Products September 19, 2016

IonTuition Reveals Student Loan Benefits Package

In a recent survey of managers, IonTuition found nearly all saw value in offering their employees benefits such as student loan repayment assistance.
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IonTuition.com, the self-described “education-fintech company specializing in helping borrowers monitor and manage their student loans,” announced a new student loan benefits package that provides employers with an innovative solution to enable employees to better pay off student loans.

In a recent survey of employers, IonTuition found nearly all saw value in offering their employees benefits such as student loan repayment assistance. In fact, according to the firm, 70% of respondents believe that offering such a program would improve morale and retention, while more than 90% of respondents believed that this benefit would decrease stress among their workforce.

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To this end, IonTuition wants to offer employers the option to provide employees with “convenient, automated student loan payments made via payroll deductions, a feature that all respondents agree employees would appreciate.” The IonTuition approach “ensures reliable, on-time, stress-free monthly student loan payments.” Additionally, IonTuition offers a payment contribution system similar to 401(k) contribution programs, which gives employers the ability to accelerate their employees’ student loan repayment through monetary contributions.

Through IonTuition, employees have a clearer picture of their student loans, federal and private, all in one place, along with access to repayment planning tools that simplify complex repayment options and make it easy to work out which repayment plan best suits each user’s unique situation. Additionally, IonTuition has a team of expert student loan counselors standing by to assist with any questions employees might have. Counselors provide one-on-one help, from talking through the basics of student loans to working hand-in-hand with employees to develop a personalized repayment strategy.

More information is available online here. 

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