Duties of the Third-Party Contract Administrator
PMZ's Promise to Clients
When establishing a new retirement Plan, PMZ Pension Corporation strives to custom design Plans by implementing provisions that optimize client objectives.
When assuming the responsibility of Contract Administrator for an existing Plan, we review the current Plan Document and prior Form 5500 Annual Reporting to determine if we can improve on the Plan design. It is company policy not to charge a take-over fee for existing plans unless we have to prepare documentation to correct prior administrative errors.
Our responsibilities as the Third Party Contract Administrator include preparing all documentation relating to the Plan such as Plan Document, Trust Agreement, Summary Plan Description and employee communications. PMZ is responsible for performing administrative duties on an accurate and timely basis. Annual administration includes the preparation and submission of the Form 5500 Annual Report and related schedules, Trust asset accounting, computation of maximum allowable and optimal annual contribution amounts for Defined Contribution Plans and Defined Benefit Plans.
We also notify employees of their eligibility to participate in the Plan and we prepare and distribute all required documentation inclusive of Participant Statements, Summary Plan Descriptions, and Summary Annual Reports. We obtain executed participant beneficiary designation forms from participants and notify designated beneficiaries and other legal representatives of participant benefits, rights and options. We prepare promissory notes and loan repayment schedules and we create custom loan policies for uniform compliance. We notify terminated employees of their benefits, rights and options for distributions. This includes preparing the requisite disclosure forms and participant and spousal consent forms and other documentation necessary to execute benefit payments to participants within the time constraint of the law.
PMZ employs an in-house actuary with more than twenty years of service with the corporation.
Accrued benefit computations, actuarial funding calculations and annual actuarial certifications are prepared using a proprietary software system developed internally over the past 25 years.
We guarantee that your Plan Documentation is in compliance with all government regulations necessary to ensure protection of the tax exempt qualified status of the Plan governed under the Employee Retirement Income Security act of 1974 (“ERISA”) and the tax deferred status of the Trust investments. We assume responsibility for keeping the client updated and informed of any new government policies, regulations, and necessary amendments to keep the Plan in compliance. This includes proper communication and disclosure to all parties involved, i.e. Trustees, participants, accountants, financial/investment advisors, payroll, human resources.
PMZ provides consultation services and strategy sessions to determine the need to modify Plan provisions. This could include the freezing of Plan benefits, initiating a Plan Termination, as well as strategies for tax favorable distribution of Plan assets to a successor plan, IRA account or as part of the Required Minimum Distribution for participants age 70 ½.
In the event of a government audit, we assume full responsibility for a satisfactory conclusion. We provide the necessary response and documentation to obtain a favorable outcome of the audit given the facts and circumstances of the case. We also respond to all other inquiries made by governmental agencies that have jurisdiction over the Plan.
We also take responsibility for guiding you in operating the Plan in compliance with the requirements of the ERISA, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor regulations and the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation.
PMZ’s code of operations is to anticipate potential problems in advance and to be sensitive to what needs to be done in order to protect the client’s best interest. After all, we advertise and assert ourselves as Pension Maximizers: Optimizing your results cost effectively.
