PLANADVISER - January/February 2019 - 43

and the opposite ruling to another. There is strong evidence
that if an employer tries to do something similar, the IRS is
unlikely to take a contrary position. "
Holdvogt says he believes the plan sponsor interest
in the PLR stems from employee demand. In fact, when
announcing what Abbott calls its Freedom 2 Save program,
Steve Fussell, executive vice president, human resources
(HR), said, " We see our young professionals coming to us
with a problem: Student loan debt payments keep them
from setting aside the money they'd like to put in savings for
retirement. With every decade you wait to start saving for
retirement, the amount you need to save roughly doubles. "
Kyle Healy, vice president of corporate development for
benefits consulting firm NFP in New York, says student loan
debt and other such financial issues employees have are
important for advisers to keep in mind. " I don't know how
advisers can deliver on their job of helping a plan sponsor's
employees prepare for retirement without knowing about
these other issues, " he says.
He adds that Millennials' top concern is not saving for
retirement. Advisers need to understand what affects this
generation's ability to build up a nest egg for that future time.
John Karaffa, Ph.D., founder and president of ProSport CPA
in Quinton, Virginia, and author of " Touchdown Finance:
Personal Finance Tips From the Pros, " says employers
want to see their company 401(k) plan grow, to have their
employees feel the company values them, and to help rid
these people of student loan debt.
" In my opinion, the more the employer can financially
help its employees, the more loyal the employees will be, "
he says. For advisers, he says, this helps grow the retirement
savings of workers in America, which has the potential to
increase investable assets.
Healy notes that the more valuable an adviser can become
to clients, the more he will be able to retain those clients and
win others through referrals. " Showing that they are not just
in one lane-they're doing things that separate them from
what others are doing-makes advisers thought leaders and
a resource clients will go to first, " Healy says.
How Advisers Can Help
According to Holdvogt, the IRS PLR created a buzz because
it was the first time the agency almost directly gave its
blessing for this type of program. That has led many
employers to take notice and say, " 'This is not just something
we're hearing. Now we have at least some official word
from the IRS that this is something employers can do in
certain circumstances,' " he says. He also notes that no one
wants to be first in the boat; when someone else climbs in
and the IRS gives its approval, it drives employer interest in
trying something similar.
However, he cautions, while this model may fit many
401(k) plans, it will not fit all. For example, under safe harbor
plan rules, if a non-highly compensated employee receives a
nonelective contribution but not a 401(m) safe harbor match
contribution, it could violate the safe harbor.
planadviser.com January-February 2019 | 41
http://www.planadviserdigital.com/planadviser/january_february_2019/TrackLink.action?pageName=41&exitLink=http%3A%2F%2Fplanadviser.com
PLANADVISER - January/February 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANADVISER - January/February 2019
