Key Benefits to Using 401k Enginuity™

Introduction

401k Enginuity is a completely online, highly automated, powerful, integrated, yet easy-to-use 401k setup, maintenance, administration and participation system accessible via Web browsers and any computer platform.

In keeping with Pension Systems Corporation's on-going commitment to providing affordable, high-caliber "industrial-strength" 401k software products and services, 401k Enginuity is licensed to run in a secure facility under the supervision and management of pension administration and IT professionals.

  • Investment brokers, banks, investment providers, insurance companies, payroll services and others can license a 401k Enginuity system to power their back-office 401k operations.
  • 401k Enginuity is presented to the public as the licensed Provider's — that is, branded with a name of the Provider and bearing the Provider's corporate "look". Go to 401k Enginuity Customization for details.
  • 401k Enginuity is priced very competitively. Licensed Providers pay 20 percent to 60 percent less per plan, per participant, than with other enterprise-level defined contribution pension administration platforms.
  • A licensed Provider is free to use 401k Enginuity in any way it sees fit — and to charge its clients any fees it sees fit, while retaining all asset-based and administration-based fees generated; Pension Systems Corporation does not participate in any revenue sharing with licensed 401k Enginuity Providers.
  • 401k Enginuity enables a licensed Provider to concurrently offer completely web-based, full-service as well as self-service/run-it-yourself 401k plans, and allows the Provider to set the administrative scheme on a client-by-client, plan-by-plan basis ( ie.. a single client can have multiple plans to the extent allowable by law, and designate either a "full-service" or "self-service" administrative scheme for each plan.
  • 401k Enginuity self-service administration is a low-overhead, quickly-implemented way for a Provider to attract small business clients. It frees the licensed Provider from virtually all day-to-day administrative activity and overhead, yet is highly marketable because most small businesses can handle their own 401k Enginuity plan administration in less than 15 minutes a month.
  • The Provider's clients who select 401k Enginuity's unique self-service approach receive 24 hour a day access to their plan-specific, self-serve administration controls from any location connected to the Internet. All plan processing is done online, INSTANTANEOUSLY (rather than submitted online, pulled down and processed by Provider's back-office personnel, then put back online, often days, not seconds, later).
  • Clients' employees have 24 hour a day access to participation and management of their personal 401k accounts from any Internet connection. Visit the Plan Participant Gateway for more details.
  • 401k Enginuity full-service administration is a highly efficient means for a Provider to run full-service 401k plans of any size, and simultaneously cut staffing overhead using 401k Enginuity's many automated features.
  • With 401k Enginuity, the licensed Provider chooses the investments (proprietary or other) to be made available to its 401k clients. One hundred percent of any investment fees/commissions are retained by Provider (or other applicable party if Provider is offering investments from an outside source) and are not subject to revenue sharing arrangements with Pension Systems Corporation.
  • 401k Enginuity 401k plans are highly flexible and allow for today's most popular 401k options, including participant-directed brokerage accounts, 401k loans, Roth 401k, personalized account "snapshots" and more.
  • 401k Enginuity automatically customizes each 401k plan and its plan administration operations to the specifications the client chooses within the Plan Setup Wizard. The Wizard explains each of the options the Provider has chosen to make available to its clients and records the client's designations; see below, or visit the 401k Enginuity Customization page for details.

Extremely Low Overhead...

401k Enginuity allows for self-service as well as full-service 401k operation at low startup and overhead costs.

  • "Start up costs" are simply the one-time system setup fee plus the annual capacity fee. Both the one-time set-up and annual license fees are directly tied to the aggregate number of participants the Plan Provider intends to service globally across all plans--Provider only buys what is needed to manage the current book of 401k business, and can change capacity at will.
  • Pension Systems Corporation handles all system customization to achieve the Provider's corporate "look." (Please see below or 401k Enginuity Customization for details.)
  • Provider 401k plan setup labor is minimal because clients design, order and purchase their 401k plans online via the 401k Enginuity system-specific Plan Setup Wizard. Submissions are automatically and immediately forwarded to Provider personnel to review and amend with the client, as needed, via the system's Provider Gateway.
  • Plan administration via 401k Enginuity is so highly automated that a small business plan can easily be run — whether by the Plan Sponsor or Provider personnel — in less than 15 minutes a month. Even large plans take a fraction of the time and effort customarily demanded.
  • Data for end of year tax reports is automatically compiled for each client. The Provider can use the output to generate signature-ready tax forms, or have clients complete the forms themselves via 401k Enginuity's online 401k TFP Wizard.
  • Completely online, 100% live, highly-automated plan-specific 401k administration means Providers can use 401k Enginuity to offer even the smallest of small businesses (including one-person 401k plans!) extremely affordable yet high quality 401k plans featuring investments of the Provider's choosing, and self-service plan administration.
  • Completely online, 100% live, highly-automated plan-specific 401k administration means Providers can use 401k Enginuity to offer businesses of any size highly competitive rates and option-rich 401k plans featuring investments of the Provider's choosing and administration handled by Provider personnel (via 401k Enginuity).

Employer-run "Self-service" Plan Administration Capabilities

401k Enginuity self-service plan administration is hands-off luxury for the licensed Provider because the end-user client handles ALL administrative duties itself from any location connected to the Internet.

  • Each client's Plan Sponsor Gateway and all the plan administration functions and controls housed therein are automatically customized to the exact features and specifications of their company's 401k plan. For instance, if a client chooses not to offer 401k loans, no mention of 401k loans appears in the client's Plan Sponsor Gateway (or Plan Participant Gateway).

  • System customization includes the option for the licensed Provider to have 401k Enginuity require Provider approval before designated self-service plan administration (and/or participation) activity(ies) can be implemented.
  • Self-service plan administration is particularly marketable to small businesses, which typically can run their 401k plans via 401k Enginuity in less than 15 minutes a month.
  • Access is user-name and password protected. -enterprise-level security features and safeguards are standard throughout.
  • The licensed Provider can observe, override and suspend activity at any time.
  • Self-service clients maintain their own company and employee records.
  • Self-service clients define their plan's investments from the selection the licensed Provider has chosen to offer (then, within the Plan Participant Gateway, plan participants designate the investments to which they want 401k contributions directed in and what amounts).
  • Self-service clients process, approve, and administrate plan activity themselves, including contributions, distributions, transfers, and loans.
  • 401k Enginuity generates activity reports, forms, and statements directly for the self-service clients.
  • Self-service clients create and edit their own Bulletins for display on plan participants' log in pages.
  • Self-service clients cue 401k Enginuity to run IRS compliance tests whenever desired. Possible tests include 402(g), 401(k), 401(m), 415, Multiple Use Tests, Top Heavy Tests, Coverage Tests, and Compensation Tests. 401k Enginuity "knows" which tests are applicable to any given 401k plan based on encoded criteria.
  • 401k Enginuity's One-Click Compliance Wizard calculates compliance test correction solutions for the Plan Sponsor (or Plan Provider, if applicable) at a click of a mouse based on prevailing federal regulations.

401k Enginuity self-service plan administration functions are greatly expanded upon versions of capabilities available within the premier run-it-yourself 401k desktop software, 401(k) Easy, developed by Pension Systems Corporation Go to www.401k-easy.com to download a free copy of that precursory software, or call (800) 660-0050 to order it on CD-ROM. (Remember, the 401(k) Easy software only addresses one aspect of 401k Enginuity capabilities — plan administration — and its capabilities in even that area are far less expansive than the soon-to-be-released online version's.)

Advantages of Online "Self-Serve" 401k Plan Features

  • Self-serve allows HR professionals to better use their time, and reduce HR department staff and related overhead.
  • Online self-serve significantly reduces phone call volume to the HR department.
  • Younger employees raised with the Internet expect the freedom and rapid turn-around of self-service online.
  • Self-serve gives employees the ability to enroll in the company 401k, update personal information, and make investment selections and changes quickly, conveniently, and securely.
  • Along with saving time and money, self-serve 401k features provide management with an overview of how employees are using the company's 401k..

Self-service Plan Participation

401k Enginuity online plan participation means "hands-off" luxury for the Provider, minimized work for the plan administrator (whether Plan Sponsor or Provider personnel), and convenience for plan participants.

  • The Provider can stay completely out of day-to-day plan operations and participation activity — yet has the freedom to monitor and/or get involved in activity at any time.
  • System and per-plan customization includes the option for the licensed Provider (and, if so designated, Plan Sponsor) to have 401k Enginuity require Provider and/or Plan Sponsor approval before any so-designated self-service plan participation activity(ies) can be implemented. 401k Enginuity then automatically notifies the relevant party(ies) immediately regarding relevant activity via both internal and external e-mail messaging.
  • Self-service clients' plan administration workload is greatly diminished from what a client might at first anticipate it to be, because plan participants "help themselves" to enrolling in the plan online, updating personal information and investment designations, reviewing and printing activity reports and account statements, modeling and/or submitting 401k loans, transfer and distribution requests, and more. 401k Enginuity immediately notifies the relevant party via e-mail of all relevant transaction requests and account activity designated as requiring that party's approval.
  • Plan participants never have to bother their in-house plan administrator (or the Provider) for routine account information updates, for instance. Instead, they update personal information themselves, online, at their leisure. Participants can amend their address, telephone number(s), disbursement preferences, passwords, and more. 401k Enginuity immediately notifies the plan administrator via e-mail of any changes, and all approved updates are instantaneously available system wide.

Visit the Plan Participant Gateway page for further details.

Customization Capabilities for Provider as well as Provider's Clients...

401k Enginuity is customizable both on the system level (meaning to the needs and corporate identity of the Provider to whom it's licensed) and the individual plan level (meaning to the needs of the individual Plan Sponsor and its employees).

  • The Provider selects the name and color palette by which 401k Enginuity will be presented to the public.
  • The Provider sets the investments (proprietary or other, including self-directed brokerage accounts) to be available through its licensed 401k Enginuity.
  • The Provider establishes any fees it wants 401k Enginuity to bill clients, with fees being variable on a client by client, plan by plan, transaction by transaction basis (see 401k Enginuity Features for details).
  • The Provider can choose to restrict or exclude any of the plan customization options available to clients.
  • There is no extra charge for including or excluding any options, a savings Providers can easily pass on to clients.
  • The Provider's clients use the Plan Setup Wizard to choose the investments and plan options (eligibility parameters, automatic enrollment options, loan options, etc.) the Provider has chosen to make available.

Please go to 401k Enginuity Customization for a complete discussion of 401k Enginuity system and plan customization options.

Provider-run "Full-service" Plan Administration Capabilities

401k Enginuity gives licensed Providers the option of having authorized Provider personnel handle 401k administrative duties for clients.

  • In such full-service plans, applicable 401k Enginuity plan administration functions can be hidden within the Plan Sponsor Gateway to any degree desired. For instance, Provider and client might choose to keep certain data submission functions accessible to client but have all processing, report and participant statement generation, participant request review, etc. functions invisible to the Plan Sponsor and visible to and operational by authorized Provider personnel only.
  • 401k Enginuity's extremely flexible client billing system makes it easy for the Provider to set variable prices for each plan and charge each client for exactly the services rendered, making it possible to accurately bill for varied service levels of plan administration.

401k Enginuity plan administration — whether operated by Plan Sponsor or Provider personnel — is highly automated, plan specific and designed to be operable by even the most 401k-uninitiated, allowing Provider to keep labor costs down even in full-service 401k administration situations.

Flexible Training...

Pension Systems Corporation offers 401k Enginuity Providers a selection of training options, each completely optional, reasonably priced and geared to the Provider's specific needs.

  • Because 401k Enginuity is highly automated and its management options are intuitively laid out, 401k Enginuity Providers require far less training than with other enterprise-level pension administration systems.
  • Training is available in web-based sessions, on-site sessions, and one-day seminars held in major metropolitan areas. Fees are contingent upon the training option selected and the number of persons the Provider enrolls. Please contact us for details.