What is it?

QTR Choice Pooled Solutions℠

The QTR Choice Pooled Solutions℠ revolutionizes retirement planning in the industry, providing a comprehensive array of pooled solutions that gives clients various options. Whatever size business you have, QTR Choice Pooled Solutions℠ offers plans tailored to uniquely meet your needs while providing competitive pricing that generally goes hand-in-hand with large-scale setups. 

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The flexibility to meet your needs

Comparing your options

QTR Choice Pooled Solutions℠ product is unique because it consists of two plan configurations: Retirement Plan Exchange® and Choice Pooled Employer Plan℠.

Retirement Plan Exchange®

Retirement Plan Exchange® allows individual sponsors to select from a menu of cost-effective options to build a single-employer retirement plan and configure a support team.

  • Individual plan sponsors choose from a menu of cost-effective options to build a retirement plan
  • TAG Resources handles plan administration and prepares, signs, and files the Form 5500 on behalf of the company
  • Typically, best suited for smaller businesses and organizations not subject to a plan audit
  • Mesirow serves as the 3(38) Investment Manager (fiduciary) for plan sponsors who elect to join the Exchange

Choice Pooled Employer Plan℠

Choice Pooled Employer Plan℠ treats the plans of multiple unrelated employers as one large plan that benefits from reduced audit costs.

  • Treats multiple plans as one large plan
  • Sponsored by and includes independent fiduciary oversight by a pooled plan provider (PPP)
  • The PPP manages administration and oversight
  • One combined Form 5500 and single audit for the PEP
  • Audited plans benefit from reduced audit costs
  • Mesirow serves as one of the 3(38) Investment Managers for participating employers in the PEP

Administrative responsibilities

The QTR Choice Pooled Solutions℠ removes more than 90% of your administrative tasks compared to a single-employer plan.

Your load is lighter with the QTR Choice Pooled Solutions℠

As a retirement sponsor, your primary responsibilities* are to select and monitor service providers and:

  • Upload payroll files**
  • Collect year-end data**

Without the QTR Choice Pooled Solutions℠ , your responsibilities are:

  • 3(38) Investment Manager Appointment, Monitoring, and Removal (if applicable)
  • 402(g) Limit Reporting
  • 404(a)(5) Notice Distribution
  • 404(c) Notice Distribution
  • 408(b)(2) Notice Distribution
  • Annual Discrimination & Coverage Testing
  • Auto-Enrollment Notice Distribution
  • Beneficiary Determinations
  • Blackout Notice Distribution
  • Census Review
  • Corrective Distributions
  • Death Benefit Approval
  • Distribution Processing
  • DOL and IRS Issue Resolution Assistance
  • Eligibility Calculations
  • Eligibility Notifications

  • Plan Contribution Monitoring
  • Error Correction Monitoring
  • Force Out Processing
  • Form 5330 Preparation & Filing
  • Form 5500 Preparation, Signing, & Filing
  • Form 8955 Preparation, Signing, & Filing
  • Fund Change Notice Distribution
  • Hardship Withdrawal Approval
  • Loan Approval & Reporting
  • Loan Default Monitoring
  • Loan Policy Administration
  • Lost Earnings Calculations
  • Participant Enrollment Assistance
  • Payroll Aggregation
  • Plan Design Review
  • Plan Document Interpretation
  • Plan Document Preparation & Archiving

  • QDIA Notice Distribution
  • QDRO Determinations & Reporting
  • Required Minimum Distributions
  • Safe Harbor Notice Distributions
  • Summary Annual Report Production & Distribution
  • Summary of Material Modification Notice Distribution
  • Summary Plan Description Production & Distribution
  • Termination Date Verification & Maintenance
  • Termination Withdrawal Approval
  • Vesting Verification & Tracking
  • Year-End Data Collection & Review

Let us make your job easier

Improve accuracy, save time and effort 

Simplified payroll and recordkeeping

PayStart provides a service for qualifying clients that allows contribution data to be sent directly from the payroll vendor to Transamerica, eliminating the need for the plan sponsor to create and manipulate a separate file. This can help your organization:

Save time

Transfer of participant compensation, contribution, and other data to Transamerica happens automatically and securely

Reduce costs

Payroll uploads and deferral changes are no longer time-consuming tasks, allowing for more efficiency

Improve accuracy

Automated integration reduces opportunities for compliance issues and can save your staff time from dealing with errors

Enhance productivity

With automation, staff can recover their time and focus on other important matters

The Bedrock Reporting System™

TAG Resources proprietary software

With data gathered from contribution files from the plan sponsor and recordkeeper, TAG can match employees with specifics provided in the plan document to determine eligibility and verify participant information. In addition, the system captures rate changes, new loans, and hardship withdrawals and monitors contributions and distributions to ensure compliance with plan documents and 401(k) limits. Every step in the process is time-stamped, so the complete data cycle is monitored. The system allows TAG to monitor operational health and catch minor errors before exposing the plan to compliance violations.

Advantages & core benefits

The advantages of the QTR Choice Pooled Solutions℠

Making it simple

Employers don’t want to be 401(k) experts. TAG Resources supports plan setup, implementation, monitoring, enrollment, and other duties.

Fiduciary protection

Employers don’t want to be at risk. By shifting administrative and certain named fiduciary duties to TAG and the PPP, if participating in the Choice PEP, employers can significantly reduce their defined legal obligations and responsibilities.

Compliant

Employers don’t want fines or penalties. The plan uses processes developed to administer plans according to Department of Labor (DOL) and IRS guidance to help avoid compliance issues.

Well-known providers

Employers want to work with industry leaders. QTR Choice Pooled Solutions℠ combines industry-leading professional service providers for “end-to-end” retirement plan oversight, including robust tools and resources for employees.

Cost-effective

Employers don’t want to overpay. QTR Choice Pooled Solutions℠ is built on a pooled pricing model and may cost less than other programs offering fewer comprehensive services.

Meet the team

Financial Advisor

Shawn Jiles

Shawn Jiles is a Director and a Private Wealth Advisor within QTR Family Wealth in Orlando. Shawn provides deeply customized advice and guidance to an accomplished clientele, helping them unwind the complexities that significant wealth can entail. A veteran Advisor, he is skilled in discerning possible efficiencies across a client’s balance sheet, attuned to the distinctive priorities and needs of ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families. Shawn strives to clarify the intersection of clients’ personal and professional wealth, working in concert with their external tax and legal advisors, as appropriate.

Contact

Recordkeeper

Transamerica

Transamerica is an industry-leading recordkeeper with nearly 25 years of experience with pooled arrangements. Our time-tested recordkeeping technology offers a proven infrastructure allowing for pooled arrangements, ensuring a plan will be administered successfully and accurately for the plan participant’s transition to retirement.

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Plan Administrator Type 3(16) & 402(a)

TAG Resources

TAG Resources is a named fiduciary as a plan administrator and a non-investment 3(21) fiduciary under ERISA sections 402(a), 3(16), and 3(21). It is our job to perform all functions necessary to keep your plan compliant.

As such, TAG Resources is responsible for the day-to-day operations of your plan. The functions we perform on your behalf include services such as: the signing and filing of the Form 5500, QDRO determinations, plan operations, participant claims and appeals, distributions, and beneficiary determinations.

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Investment manager

Mesirow Financial

Mesirow is an independent, employee-owned financial services firm founded in 1937. Headquartered in Chicago with offices around the world, we serve clients through a personal, custom approach to reaching financial goals and acting as a force for social good. With capabilities spanning Global Investment Management, Capital Markets & Investment Banking, and Advisory Services, we invest in what matters: our clients, our communities, and our culture.

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Participant experience

Driving participant success

The Transamerica participant experience is designed to help people understand if their savings and investment strategy is in line with their retirement goals. It starts with enrollment and continues with personalized communications and financial education showing participants how they can improve their retirement readiness.

An easy-to-understand forecast is generated by the underlying methodology provided by Morningstar. Using simple weather icons, it shows participants if their current investment strategy is likely to produce the income they’re seeking in retirement and offers steps to improve their chances of achieving their goals. Your Retirement Outlook® is featured prominently on the participant website, mobile app, and quarterly statements.

Transamerica

24

Years of pooled plan experience

408

Plan sponsors

13,513

Adopting employees

Call or email us today

Call 407-749-6527 or email us at sjiles@bisonwealth.com. We are ready to help.