PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 73

for Nationwide photographers to shoot
photos of employees involved in activities
they would like to do in retirement.
" In 2017, we pitched the idea of a selfie
contest with employees submitting selfies
of what their dream retirement would look
like, " Blair says. Wilson took the idea and
coordinated the communications and the
procurement of assets for the marketing
plan and to post the submitted selfies.
" Phillip brings keen insights to us
about employees and participants, " Wilson
says, adding that the collaboration and
mutual respect she shares with him and
his team lead to innovative approaches,
which lead to plan growth and participant
satisfaction.
Service Star Team
Ascensus
Shannon Corin and Deann Lentz
worked closely with the plan
sponsor to coordinate an IRS
audit, plus amend the plan
IN 2016,
the retirement plan for
the
Michigan Chapter of the National
Electrical Contractors Association was
pummeled with issues. " We were notified
of an IRS audit for 2013/2014, " recalls
Elizabeth Mestelle, plan administrator for
the chapter. " At the same time, in March,
we had a change in recordkeeping staff. "
Further, employees' eligibility
requirements had changed so the plan
had to add an amendment, plus it discovered
the need to do additional testing,
going back to 2010. " All were potentially
nerve-racking events, " Mestelle says, " but
first Shannon Corin and then Deann
Lentz carefully, and kindly, led us through
the processes. "
As many businesses have learned,
audits are not simple to coordinate,
especially for a new plan administrator,
which Mestelle was, notes Corin, a client
relationship manager with Ascensus.
" Audits often require extensive research,
fact-finding, and working with the plan's
recordkeeper to retrieve documentation
from prior years, such as plan documents,
records of distributions and contributions,
and compliance testing results. "
This could have been a nightmare,
Mestelle says, but the Ascensus team
Corin
Lentz
CLIENT: Michigan Chapter National
Electrical Contractors Association
CLIENT INDUSTRY: Membership
organization/Industry association
CLIENT HEADQUARTERS: Lansing, Michigan
PLAN ASSETS/PARTICIPANTS: $1mm-$5mm/8
BIOS: Shannon Corin, a client relationship
manager for Ascensus, supports plan
sponsors and financial advisers in retirement
plan administration; prior to joining
the company, in 2013, she worked at The
French Laundry where she coordinated
and led the client satisfaction team. Deann
Lentz, a senior retirement consultant on
Ascensus' client service team, has been
with the firm for over 12 years, in various
service roles.
walked her through each step of the audit.
" We're a staff of five but were treated like
one of Ascensus' biggest plans-with the
utmost care and respect. " Without the
team's guidance, she says, she could not
have handled all of the additional challenges
on top of her normal duties.
Corin gives much of the credit to
Mestelle. " She did a tremendous job, organizing
the files, analyzing plan data and
implementing new processes to improve
the business' internal efficiencies. We
made a great a team, " she says.
As to Ascensus' contribution, Corin
says, " Each call is a new challenge, and
it's so rewarding to be able to provide
exceptional client service that represents
our organization's core values. We always
aim to become a trusted partner for each
client, not just a friendly voice on the
other end of the phone. "
Lee
Service Star Team
Charles Schwab
Rebecca Clark, Margarita Hughes,
Katie Lee and Becky Pickthall used a
popular company event to promote
a retirement readiness tool
Clark
Hughes
Pickthall
CLIENT: A Silicon Valley technology
company
CLIENT INDUSTRY: Telecommunications
CLIENT HEADQUARTERS: San Francisco
area, California
PLAN ASSETS/PARTICIPANTS: >$500mm-$1b/
4,000
BIOS: Rebecca Clark, a relationship manager
with Schwab since last year, has served the
retirement planning industry for over 12
years. Margarita Hughes, a communication
consultant with Schwab, joined the firm
in 2014; she has over 16 years' experience
in financial services, including 10 assisting
plan sponsors and participants with their
defined contribution (DC) and nonqualified
plans. Katie Lee, having over 15 years'
industry experience, moved to Schwab in
2016 and is a senior client service manager.
Becky Pickthall, with 11 years' experience in
finance, has worked for Schwab since 2013
and is a client service specialist.
FOR one Silicon Valley semi-conductor
company, excitement peaks at the time of
its annual ping-pong tournament-a fact
that Charles Schwab decided to leverage
in a twofold strategy: launch a new retirement
readiness tool while also promoting
PLANSPONSOR.com April-May 2018 73
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