Products August 11, 2023

The Standard Adds PEPs, Auto Step-Up Savings, Other Recordkeeper Services

The retirement provider, which acquired Securian Financial’s $17 billion recordkeeping business last year, announced seven new features and products.

Reported by


The Standard, which purchased Securian Financial’s retirement recordkeeping business last October, has introduced seven new products and services to its retirement platform, the firm announced Friday.

The Standard’s retirement services business now offers pooled employer plans, automatic annual “step-up” retirement saving contributions and electronic loan repayments, among other services, as it seeks to leverage its new scale.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANADVISERdash daily newsletter.

“We’ve brought together the best of both organizations—Securian and The Standard—to deliver a comprehensive suite of differentiated products and services,” Jason Burlie, head of retirement plan sales for The Standard, said in a statement.

The new products and services include:

  • PEPs, with the goal of making “retirement plan adoption more accessible and attractive to businesses of all sizes.”

  • Automatic Clearing House loan repayment to ease payment processing for employers and participants by allowing direct payment from personal bank accounts.

  • Foreign tax credits can be returned to participant retirement accounts, which will help “lower separate account expenses, which can lead to increased performance for those investments receiving the credits.”

  • Financial wellness resources and enhancements have been made by partnering with third-party provider Enrich, according to The Standard. The platform is designed to provide “personalized and interactive experiences” at no extra cost to the employer or participant.

  • Step-up savings are now an option—at no extra cost—for automatic annual contribution rate increases.

  • Spanish-speaker resources have been increased, including in the company’s online personal savings center.

  • Target age and target risk portfolios have been added to create diversified asset allocations for participants, again at no additional cost.

Securian Financial’s retirement plans comprised $17 billion of assets under administration at the time of the transaction, and The Standard had $29.3 billion in assets under administration.

The Standard runs subsidiaries that include an insurance and annuities business, a mutual fund trust platform, financial recordkeeping and plan administration, and investment advisory services.

Compliance August 11, 2023

Live Nation 401(k) Plan Escapes Class Suit, Moves to Arbitration

A federal judge in California ruled for Live Nation in a motion to move the case to arbitration.

Reported by

A federal judge has ruled that allegations of fiduciary mismanagement brought by former employees participating in Live Nation Entertainment’s 401(k) plan must be addressed by arbitration rather than in court, effectively ending the plaintiff’s attempts at a class action lawsuit.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan adviser news.

U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson’s ruling for arbitration was filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, dismissing attempts by former Live Nation employees Pamela Avecilla and Sean Bailey for a class action.

“The Court concludes that the Plan’s Arbitration Agreement is valid, enforceable, and encompasses Plaintiffs’ individual claims in this action,” Anderson wrote. “The Court also concludes that Plaintiffs waived their right to pursue their class claims. The Court therefore grants Defendants’ Motion to Compel Arbitration and dismisses Plaintiffs’ class claims.”

The plaintiffs filed the complaint in March, alleging that Live Nation’s 401(k) plan and its administrators breached their fiduciary duty by paying excessive fees, failing to offer lower-cost mutual fund shares and failing to offer a less expensive stable value option. In addition, the plaintiffs argue that Live Nation offered a guaranteed income product that carried “unnecessarily high risk” and generated relatively low returns.

The defendants argued to the court that the plan’s arbitration agreement should prevail in the case, Avecilla et al. vs. Live Nation Entertainment et al.

The plaintiffs countered that any arbitration would have to occur with each individual participant and could not be done via class action; further, they argued that participants had not consented to the arbitration agreement and that it should not be enforceable under California law.

The court disagreed, citing a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that notes “ERISA contains no congressional command against arbitration, therefore an agreement to arbitrate ERISA claims is generally enforceable.” The court also argued that the participants had agreed to the plan’s arbitration agreement and that arbitration is enforceable under ERISA, which supersedes state law.

Live Nation, based in Beverly Hills, California, is a global entertainment company. As of December 31, 2021, its 401(k) plan had 8,974 total participants with account balances and about $769 million in assets, according to the complaint.

Christina Humphrey and Robert Fisher of Christina Humphrey Law PC are representing the plaintiffs in this case. Live Nation did not respond to a request for comment.

 

«

This website uses cookies to improve visitors' experience. You may continue to use the site as normal if you agree to the use of cookies. This site is published by France Media Inc. To read our privacy policy, click here.