Transamerica Announces New Small Business Initiative to Support Retirement Plan Participants, Sponsors and Third Party Administrators

News provided by

Sep 25, 2020, 12:31 ET

BALTIMORE, Sept. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Transamerica today announces a new retirement plan initiative for small business employees, employers, and third party administrators, to help them better navigate the challenges that today's economy poses for retirement savers.

Small businesses have been tested by the economic effects of the pandemic. According to a recent survey by the NFIB Research Center, more than half of small businesses believe it will be sometime in 2021 before the U.S. small business climate returns to normal.

"We understand that many small businesses have been especially hard hit by the pandemic and resulting economic conditions," said Kent Callahan, Chief Executive Officer for Transamerica's Workplace Solutions division. "Transamerica has the tools to help small businesses and their employees manage their retirement goals, and we are taking action today to help these employers and their employees better navigate investing in uncertain times."

"We have been hearing directly from retirement plan participants about their increased need for support with investment decisions during this unprecedented year," Mr. Callahan added. For participants in qualifying small business retirement plans, Transamerica is offering this new, fee-waived opportunity to experience the support of professional investment selection and ongoing investment allocation services for up to six months (180 days) during 2020 and 2021.

Transamerica is enabling participants to receive personalized, fee-waived investment advice through Transamerica's Managed Advice^® service, along with access to one-on-one support from qualified Transamerica Investment Adviser Representatives. Managed Advice^® is designed to provide participants with professional asset allocation services throughout up and down markets, to and through retirement. After six months, regular asset-based fees will apply for the Managed Advice^® service for less than the average cost of an independent financial advisor, as reported by Advisory HQ's Average Financial Advisor Fees in 2020. Participants maintain the freedom to opt out of the Managed Advice^® service at any time.

For small business employers that bring the organization's retirement plan to Transamerica by December 31, 2020, Transamerica will offer certain fee waivers or credits to the plan sponsor through the end of first quarter, 2021, when the qualifying retirement plan is implemented with Transamerica. For example, Transamerica will make the plan's transition easier by providing critical employee communications with waived fees to help onboard the retirement plan and its participants to Transamerica by March 31, 2021.

Transamerica is also extending its small business initiative to the independent third party administrator (TPA) firms that provide administration and/or compliance services to the plan. Because many of these third party administration firms are small businesses, Transamerica will support these TPA firms with a marketing allowance of up to $1,000 in order to help the TPAs grow their own businesses.

"We appreciate that our TPA business associates are an integral part of delivering professional services to these small business plans," Mr. Callahan noted. "We are dedicated to helping TPAs invest in and expand their companies." For a retirement plan committing to Transamerica by year-end 2020 and onboarding its participants in first quarter, 2021, the plan's TPA, in turn, will receive a first-quarter marketing allowance up to $1,000 from Transamerica that can help enable the TPA's future growth.

In addition to today's announcement, earlier this year when the federal CARES Act was enacted, Transamerica demonstrated its support for retirement plans of all sizes by:

Waiving all retirement plan fees associated with coronavirus-related distributions to aid coronavirus-impacted employees;
Establishing a dedicated team to support participants who are considering accessing their long-term retirement savings to meet their short-term financial challenges related to the coronavirus; and
Waiving any plan amendment fees needed to implement federal CARES Act provisions for plan sponsors using Transamerica's pre-approved document.

"Transamerica has an enduring commitment to helping people save for a secure retirement," Mr. Callahan continued. "We stand ready to support our customers with the tools to plan for a secure future when they need us the most."

About Transamerica
With a history that dates back more than 100 years, Transamerica is recognized as a leading provider of life insurance, retirement and investment solutions, serving millions of customers throughout the United States. Recognizing the necessity of health and wellness during peak working life, Transamerica's dedicated professionals work to help people take the steps necessary to live better today so they can worry less about tomorrow. Transamerica serves nearly every customer segment, providing a broad range of quality life insurance and investment products, individual and group pension plans, as well as asset management services. In 2019, Transamerica fulfilled its promises to customers, paying more than $50 billion in insurance, retirement, and annuity claims and benefits, including return of annuity premiums paid by the customer. Transamerica is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, with other major operations in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Denver, Colorado. Transamerica is part of the Aegon group of companies. Based in the Netherlands, Aegon is one of the world's largest providers of life insurance, pension solutions and asset management products, operating in more than 20 markets worldwide. For the full year of 2019, Aegon managed over $1 trillion in revenue generating investments. For more information, visit www.transamerica.com.

About Managed Advice^®Managed Advice^® provides a participant with an asset allocation mix of funds available within the plan. The asset allocation mix will be automatically rebalanced and reallocated, managing risk and return as participants' settings and goals change over time. Additional fees and terms and conditions apply to the Managed Advice^® service. Participants will continue to bear the fees of the underlying investment options in the Managed Advice^® account. Managed Advice^® portfolios are subject to the same risks as the underlying asset classes in which they invest. The higher the portfolio's allocation to stocks the greater the risk. Managed Advice^® utilizes models, algorithms and/or calculations (Models), which have inherent risks. Models may incorrectly forecast future behavior or produce unexpected results resulting in losses. The success of using Models depends on numerous factors, including the validity, accuracy and completeness of the Model's development, implementation and maintenance, the Model's assumptions, factors, algorithms and methodologies, and the accuracy and reliability of the supplied historical or other data. If incorrect data is entered into even a well-founded Model, the resulting information will be incorrect. Investments selected with the use of Models may perform differently than expected as a result of the design of the Model, inputs into the Model, or other factors. The principal value of the portfolio is never guaranteed. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate with market conditions, and participants may lose money.

The Managed Advice^® service is offered through Transamerica Retirement Advisors, LLC (TRA), an SEC registered investment advisor. Transamerica Retirement Solutions and TRA are affiliated companies. Morningstar Investment Management Associates, LLC^®, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Morningstar, is an SEC-registered investment advisor that serves as an independent financial expert and provides the underlying investment advice and portfolio management methodology for the Managed Advice^® service. Morningstar is not affiliated with any Transamerica companies. Please see the Managed Advice^® agreement for more information on the terms and conditions that apply.

Neither TRA nor the Managed Advice^® service provides advice for, recommends allocations of, or manages individual stocks, self-directed brokerage accounts, or employer-directed monies, even if they are available for investment in a plan. Neither TRA nor Morningstar^®, as the independent financial expert, selects or endorses any of the particular investment options available in a plan through the Managed Advice^® service. The designated plan investment options used within the Managed Advice^® service portfolios may include Transamerica proprietary investment funds or stable value products offered by Transamerica affiliates.

Important: The projections or other information generated by the engine regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of future results. Results derived from the tool may vary with each use and over time.

Securities offered through Transamerica Investors Securities Corporation (TISC), member FINRA, 440 Mamaroneck Avenue, Harrison, NY 10528.

Media inquiries:

[email protected]

Hank Williams
(319) 355-7789

Julie Quinlan
(303) 383-5923

SOURCE Transamerica