PLANADVISER - July/August 2020 - 25

NQDC Plans
EXECUTIVE retirement plans generically referred to as nonqualified deferred
compensation (NQDC)-i.e., because they give employers none of the tax benefits
associated with qualified plans-are often small in size. Forty-three percent have
fewer than five participants, respectively, but they can be an important benefit
for highly compensated employees (HCEs). The Government Accountability
Office (GAO) estimates that as much as 80% of the large public companies in the
Standard & Poor (S&P)'s 500 offer such plans to top executives.
NQDC plan recordkeeping and third-party administrator (TPA) services are
largely split into two camps: 1) specialists, who offer deep NQDC-specific expertise
on plan design and administration, and 2) generalists, who offer administration of
the plans as a convenient add-on to other products or services. Yet, the landscape
of NQDC plan administrators capable of delivering on these value propositions
continues to change as acquisitions and partnerships reshape the industry.
Whichever service strategy, successful NQDC plan administrators must
possess the knowledge and systems necessary to manage the complexity of these
plans, especially when markets become turbulent, as has been the case with the
coronavirus pandemic. Providers that combine the best people, processes and
technology can help both NQDC plan sponsors and participants avoid potential
regulatory issues. -BOK
Growth in Total NQDC Plan Assets ($mm)
$151,666
$118,216
$101,613
$104,454
$152,072
Top 10, by Total NQDC Participants
1 Fidelity Investments
2 Newport
3
Transamerica
4 Prudential Retirement
5 Principal Financial Group
6 Bank of America Corporation
7 The Vanguard Group, Inc.
8 Alight Solutions
9 Empower Retirement
10 ADP Retirement Services
Top 10, by Total 409A†
1 Fidelity Investments
2 Newport
3 Prudential Retirement
4 Principal Financial Group
5 Bank of America Corporation
6 NFP‡
7 Charles Schwab
2016
2017
2018
Total 409A† Assets ($mm), Plans and Participants

Total assets
$101,858
Plan Size
<$1mm
$1mm - $10mm
>$10mm - $50mm
>$50mm

Total plans
5,530
Assets ($mm)*
$740
$8,303
$20,279
$72,536
Plans*
2,179
2,122
882
347

Total participants
518,446
Participants*
22,535
60,627
108,909
326,375
Pertaining to plans covered under Section 409A of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
‡Profiled online as part of the 2020 PLANSPONSOR NQDC Plan Market Survey, to be published this fall.
2019
2020
8 Conduent HR Services, LLC
9 Voya Financial
10 T. Rowe Price
169,846
117,468
98,976
84,347
51,434
46,647
32,678
32,200
27,385
24,696
NQDC Liabilities
42,939
37,519
17,568
13,177
11,559
4,949
4,271
3,755
3,625
3,098
Top 10, by % of NQDC Bundled Svcs
1 GuideStone Financial Resources
1 Lincoln Financial Group
3 Fidelity Investments
4 Conduent HR Services, LLC
5 Charles Schwab
6 T. Rowe Price
7 Bank of America Corporation
8 BOK Financial
9 Prudential Retirement
*Not all providers report complete data; therefore, data segmented by plan size will not equal the corresponding overall total.
†
100%
100%
99%
93%
92%
90%
82%
80%
28%
10 CUNA Mutual Retirement Solutions 21%
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