PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2019 - 28

2019 Recordkeeping Survey: NQDC Plans
A
Although the average nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plan is
small-63% have fewer than 25 participants, and 75% have less than $5 million in
assets/liabilities-this vehicle can be an important benefit for high-income employees
and executives. Therefore, finding the right provider is no less important than when
making similar decisions for other plan types.
The first question sponsors may face is whether to outsource administration to a
specialist, which offers deep NQDC-specific expertise, or a generalist, which offers
administration of the plans as a convenient add-on to other services. Yet, the line between
these types of providers continues to blur as acquisitions and improvements in technology
and integration have forged hybrid organizations capable of delivering on both value propositions.
Today, only 23% of the overall market bundles NQDC plans with other services.
Regardless of service strategy, leading NQDC service providers possess the knowledge
and systems necessary to manage the complexity of these plans. Nonstandardized
vesting schedules, informal funding vehicles-used in almost 20% of NQDCs-and a
wide range of permissible distribution options represent just a few of the many challenges
NQDC plan sponsors and participants face, so having access to the resources to
monitor and prevent potential regulatory violations is of critical importance. -BOK
Growth in Total NQDC Plan Assets ($mm)
Top 10, by Total NQDC Participants
1 Fidelity Investments
2 Transamerica
3 Newport Group
4 Prudential Retirement
5 Conduent HR Services, LLC
6 Alight Solutions
7 The Vanguard Group, Inc.
8 Principal Financial Group
9 Bank of America
10 Empower Retirement
157,400
98,704
89,981
86,812
48,827
41,400
37,929
37,824
36,278
33,927
Top 10, by Total 409A NQDC Liabilities
1 Newport Group
2 Prudential Retirement
3 Fidelity Investments
4 Bank of America
5 Principal Financial Group
6 NFP*
2010
2011
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Total NQDC Assets, Plans and Participants

Total NQDC plan assets
$118,216
Plan Size
<$500k
$500k - $2.5mm
>$2.5mm - $10mm
>$10mm - $50mm
>$50mm

Total NQDC plans
9,709
Assets ($mm)†
$227
$1,841
$5,847
$20,029
$58,009
*Profiled online as part of the 2019 NQDC Market Survey. †
28 PLANSPONSOR.com June - July 2019
Plans†
1,933
1,349
1,117
877
325

Total NQDC
plan participants
786,575
Participants†
111,111
19,616
42,996
98,443
278,760
7 The Nolan Financial Group*
8 Wells Fargo
9 Voya Financial
10 Charles Schwab
$27,769
$15,282
$11,750
$10,056
$7,835
$5,193
$5,191
$3,707
$3,548
$3,541
Top 10, by % of NQDC Bundled Services‡
1 Fidelity Investments
2 Charles Schwab
3 USI Consulting Group
4 T. Rowe Price
5 Bank of America
6 Correll Co.
7 Prudential Retirement
8 TIAA
99%
92%
91%
89%
85%
71%
41%
39%
9 CUNA Mutual Retirement Solutions 20%
10 Newport Group
Not all providers report complete data; therefore, data segmented by plan size will not equal the
corresponding overall total. ‡Data includes only Section 409A plans; other plans sometimes grouped in this category-i.e., nongovernmental 457(b) and 457(f)
plans-are reported in 457 plan/asset/participant totals.
17%
$63,560
$60,162
$65,914
$72,768
$91,475
$96,599
$101,613
$104,454
$151,666
$118,216
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