Quarterly Product News for Advisors - Q4 2019

Nov 27, 2019

For Clients with Qualified Plans

Force Out Process

Starting in 2020, Newport Group will introduce a new force out distribution process for clients that are seeking a low cost solution. Using Newport Trust Company, Automated Force-Out Individual Retirement Accounts will be available for Plan Sponsors to utilize. By using this new product, participants will be able to access their IRA accounts through Newport Group’s Participant Service Center and website, Newportgroup.com. There will be an option available for Plan Sponsors to have Newport Group control all the required mailings, communications and applications. 

Special Deferral Elections

This feature is now available to plan sponsors that want to offer a separate deferral election for irregular pay, i.e. Bonus or Commissions.  This new election behaves as an override to the participant’s base deferral rate.  If no special election is made, then the participant’s standard deduction rate should be applied to all compensation.

This new feature is not supported by our 360 payroll integration with Paylocity or Corpay.  Any other existing payroll integration will require the provider to update the file format to accommodate the new election.

For Clients with Non-Qualified Plans

W-4 Elections

Participants will be able to submit W-4 tax withholding exemptions online. Participants may create, edit, or delete W-4 Election information including Filing Status, Total number of allowances being claimed, and additional tax amount to be withheld from each distribution.  Also, under My Profile, a participant can create, edit, or remove Direct Deposit Account Information (Bank Account name, Routing #, Bank Account #, and Bank Account Type) so that the distribution paying agent can deposit funds directly into a checking or savings account. Sponsors can also be notified when participants make a change to their W-4 Election or Direct Deposit information. This service can only be enabled for clients that utilize Newport Trust Company as the paying agent.

Non-Qualified Enrollment

Based on client feedback, we have started to redesign our NQ enrollment experience with a modern look and feel within the participant website.   The enhanced enrollment wizard has redesigned pages for Participant Welcome, Profile, Deferrals, Account Allocations, Investment Elections, Beneficiaries, Generic Insurance Consent, and eSignature. Automated emails will have a new look and larger font size for easier reading. Additionally, existing sponsor enrollment reports are being built for the new enrollment system. We plan to start introducing the new enrollment system to some clients in 2020 and will continue to rollout to clients as we enhance our enrollment system throughout 2020.    

Please be on the lookout for more information over the next few months regarding these exciting products!

Newport Group, Inc. and its affiliates provide recordkeeping, plan administration, trust and custody, consulting, fiduciary consulting, insurance and brokerage services. Newport Trust Company, is a New Hampshire state chartered trust company and wholly owned subsidiary of Newport Group, Inc. Newport Trust Company provides independent fiduciary and trustee services for employee benefit plans. Newport and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before making any decisions.

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