Mar 29, 2021
Over the next several months, Newport is introducing new products aimed at engaging and informing sponsors and participants alike. These include:
For Qualified Plans
Payroll Calendaring and Tracking
Newport is enhancing our payroll monitoring system with new calendaring, tracking, and notification capabilities. The automated calendaring and tracking system will help Newport support sponsors in ensuring that payroll files are received on time and that contributions are funded in a timely manner after submission. Notifications will be sent to sponsors alerting them if they need to take action on a payroll file or plan contribution.
Status Tracker – Loans and Distribution Requests
Much like the real-time tracking services offered by Amazon, FedEx, UPS and other leading logistics brands, Newport will be launching a new “Status Tracker” service for certain plans to keep our Qualified plan participants informed of important loan and distribution updates. When checking their account information on our website, participants will be able to track the status of their loan or distribution in real time—from submission through final payment.
Newport will also be able to send immediate notifications to participants when the status of their loan changes or if action is required. These communications will improve our participant experience by offering transparency and peace of mind.
For Qualified and Non-Qualified Plans
Financial Wellness Sponsor Insights Report
On the heels of our highly successful launch of Newport’s all-new Financial Wellness solution, we’re excited to announce we will be providing each plan sponsor that has enabled Newport’s Financial Wellness solution a quarterly report revealing key insights into participant behavior.
These insights will include historical data on how participants are using our Financial Wellness resources, what topics they are most interested in, and the overall plan experience across the plan participant population; individual participants will not be specifically identified. In the future, reports will also compare the plan’s experience with that of a broader universe of all Newport plans.
The screenshot below illustrates how the new Financial Wellness Sponsor Insights reports will be published to the plan sponsor’s report:
New Tax Statements Webpage
Certain tax forms were posted on Newport’s participant website during the first week of February after the tax forms were sent directly to participants. Examples of tax forms included on the website are as follows:
- For Qualified plans, annual 1099-R and 5498 forms (although 5498 is not expected to be posted until Summer 2021)
- For Non-Qualified plans, W-2 and 1099-M forms
Corrected tax forms for 2020 will be updated monthly through October 2021. Going forward, tax statements will be posted the first week of February and corrected tax forms will be updated monthly from March to October.
The forms are located on the participant website under My Plans > Statements. If you do not already see a link for Tax Statements, it will become available soon, as we continue to rollout the new design throughout 2021. Once available you will see two options:
- Account Statements – This page will show both Published and On-Demand Statements.
- Tax Statements – This is a new page designed to display tax statements.
If Tax Statements is not turned on, clicking on Statements will take you directly to Account Statements (no additional selection needed).
If a tax statement is available:
- You can click right on the Tax Form and a .pdf of the participant’s 1099R will open.
If no statement is available for the participant:
This functionality is intended to improve our participant experience by offering easier access to important tax documents.
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