PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2020 - 25

NQDC Plans
E
xecutive 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
$101,613
$104,454
$118,216
Top 10, by Total NQDC Participants
1 Fidelity Investments
2 Newport
169,846
117,468
3 Transamerica Retirement Solutions 98,976
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
$152,072
3 Prudential Retirement
4 Principal Financial Group
5 Bank of America Corporation
6 NFP‡
7 Charles Schwab
2016
Total 409A†
2017
2018
Assets, 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
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 Services
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%
PLANSPONSOR.COM June - July 2020 25
http://www.PLANSPONSOR.COM
PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2020
