If you have followed along on the ADMIN Partners blog, it’s likely that you have heard us use language specific to the retirement planning industry. However, we realize that not all of our audience is an expert when it comes to the retirement market. With that in mind, we wanted to share some insights on terms that you might hear us, as well as other retirement firms, toss around in conversation.
This week we are exploring common remittance. Much like data aggregation, which we reviewed last week on the blog, this term is commonly used in the 403(b) world and is a service that ADMIN Partners provides to a majority of our clients. Of all the things that Plan Sponsors spend their time on, payroll is one that requires the most time and effort. This is especially the case for Sponsors who are working in a multi-vendor scenario. With this in mind, ADMIN’s common remittance service eases this burden from Plan Sponsors and brings an added benefit to employers.
WHAT IS COMMON REMITTANCE?
Remittance is simply the payment from one place to another. In 403(b) terms, it is the submission of contributions from the employer to the vendor(s) offered within the retirement plan. These funds are the invested within the participant accounts managed by the provider.
Firms like ADMIN Partners use this process to its fullest extent by administering the remittance of contributions to the investment companies on behalf of the employer. Plans that have more than one approved provider are required to submit a payment to each of the vendors within the Plan. To eliminate this laborious process, ADMIN Partners allows our clients to submit one lump payment for contributions across the Plan and we then remit the appropriate funds to each of the investment providers. In order to keep our company completely independent (read more about that here), ADMIN uses a custodian to manage the remittance of funds to the various investment firms. This allows us to bring the most value to the Plan without creating any conflict of interest for our clients. Our team also reconciles the funds that are sent through our custodian via a contribution file that the Sponsor can upload through our secure web portal. This keeps your data safe and secure while ensuring contributions are invested in a timely manner.
Common remittance not only save Plan Sponsors time, but it also provides them with the assurance that their Plan’s contributions are being processed in a reliable manner. This allows employers to keep their focus on their mission rather than on their plan administration.
Want to learn more about our common remittance services and how it can support your retirement plan? Contact our team of experts at 877-484-4400.