Products April 7, 2020

John Hancock Waives COVID-19-Related Retirement Plan Fees

In addition to waiving fees related to participant hardship withdrawals, the firm is suspending fees for plan amendments made in response to the pandemic.

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To help retirement plan sponsors and participants in plans it administers that might be facing economic stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, John Hancock Retirement Plan Services has announced changes to fee policies.

It is waiving fees related to participant hardship withdrawals. It is also suspending any John Hancock fees for plan amendments made for plan sponsor actions in response to the pandemic.

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The changes went into effect on April 3 and will last through December 31.

John Hancock notes that the recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act waives the 10% early withdrawal penalty for distributions up to $100,000 for coronavirus-related purposes and increased retirement plan loan limits to $100,000 or 100% of a participant’s vested balance, whichever is less.
Products April 7, 2020

PCS and Envestnet Pair to Deliver Turnkey Plan Management

Through the new ManagedPlan solution, the PCS Retirement recordkeeping platform will be fully integrated with Envestnet's wealth management platform.

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The blurring of the traditional line between retirement plan advisers and individual/family wealth managers has continued to reshape the advisory industry in 2020.

In recognition of the trend, PCS Retirement and Envestnet Retirement Solutions have teamed up to launch a solution called ManagedPlan, which they are billing as a “turnkey solution for retirement plan sponsors and their financial advisers.”

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According to the firms, this new solution will initially be launched by “a large broker/dealer [B/D] client of Envestnet,” with the goal of making it available to other Envestnet enterprise clients over time. Through ManagedPlan, the PCS Retirement recordkeeping platform will be fully integrated with Envestnet’s wealth management platform.

Operationally, PCS will handle recordkeeping and administrative services at the plan level and for individual participant accounts. In addition, advisers can log into PCS’s Advisor Lab 401(k) Toolkit via a single sign-on from Envestnet to create proposals for new plans.

Mark Klein, CEO of PCS Retirement, says the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act has created an opportunity to expand the retirement planning conversation to new sectors of the economy—including for small businesses, those with a lot of part-time workers and those with freelancers or gig contractors.

“SECURE Act provisions have made it much easier, and less expensive, for small businesses to offer retirement savings plans for their employees through open multiple employer plans,” Klein suggests. “With the path cleared for more small businesses to sponsor employee retirement savings plans, our industry needs a solution that can make professional wealth management accessible and affordable for retirement plan participants—while also mitigating fiduciary risk for the sponsors.”

More information is available on the PCS website.

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