White Papers

The Key Employee Six-Month Rule and its Application to Public Company Sponsors of NQDC Plans

Public companies sponsoring non-qualified deferred compensation plans are subject to a special rule that requires payments to certain employees (called "specified employees" in IRC 409A) to be delayed for six-months following a seperation from service. This summary is intended to assist sponsors in developing administrative procedures for compliance with this special rule.

The Case for Active and Passive Management

Passive investment options continue to grow in popularity and now represent approximately 40% of total equity fund assets1. They are efficient at providing broad exposure to a number of asset classes at a low cost. Active investing provides the potential for higher returns, but at the risk of underperformance, particularly during extended bull markets. Active management benefits from risk oversight and may provide downside protection relative to market benchmarks. We expect the performance of active and passive managers to be complementary over a full market cycle. Retirement plan sponsors that offer a diversified menu of active and passive managers to participants may provide smoother long term returns, as well as gain exposures to asset classes that are otherwise unavailable passively.


 

Correcting a Failure to File the DOL Top Hat Exemption Letter

Top hat retirement plans (unfunded arrangement that benefit a "select group of management or highly compensated employees" and more commonly known as "Non-Qualified deferred compensation plans") are exempt from most of the requirnment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended ("ERISA"), including the obligation to file annual information returns with the IRS on Form 5500.

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Newport Group, Inc. (“NGI”), an Ascensus Company, and its affiliates provide recordkeeping, plan administration, trust and custody, consulting, fiduciary consulting, insurance and brokerage services.

Securities are offered through Ascensus Broker Dealer Services, LLC (“ABDS”), member FINRA/SIPC. Securities in California are offered under the d/b/a Ascensus Corporate Insurance Solutions. Other insurance products may be offered by NGI. For more information, please visit - www.ascensus.com

Investment Advisory and fiduciary consulting services are offered through Newport Group Consulting, LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser and subsidiary of NGI. For more information about Newport Group Consulting and its services, please visit newportgroup.com or refer to our Form ADV Part 2, which is available by contacting us at 407-333-2905 or adviserinfo.sec.gov.

Newport Trust Company is a New Hampshire state-chartered trust company and wholly owned subsidiary of NGI. Newport Trust Company provides independent fiduciary and trustee services for employee benefit plans.

The views expressed herein are those of NGI and are current only through the date indicated. These views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions, and NGI disclaims any responsibility to revise these materials to reflect updated views. These views may not be relied upon as investment advice and, because investment decisions for NGI are based on many factors, may not be relied upon as an indication of trading intent.