TC SUNY VDC April Webinar PPT - The State University of New York

New York State Voluntary 

Defined Contribution Program 

Administration Webinar 

For Institutional Investor Use Only. Not for Use With or Distribution to the Public.

The VDC Program Administration: agenda 

• Recap of Program 

• Getting Ready for Implementation 

• Implementation and Ongoing Administration 

• Resources Available 

• Next Steps and Timeline 

For Institutional Investor Use Only. Not for Use With or Distribution to the Public. 

2

The VDC Program 

Plan 

• The SUNY Optional Retirement Plan (SUNY ORP) was selected as 

the umbrella vehicle to introduce the new Voluntary Defined 

Contribution Program (VDC Program) for New York State public 

agencies. 

• The VDC Program is administered by David Morrell, University Wide 

Benefits Administrator, State University of New York. 

Third-Party Administrator 

• TIAA-CREF serves as the third-party administrator and central point of 

contact for your agency and participants of the program. 

Investment Providers 

• The employees will have the option of selecting TIAA-CREF, ING, 

Met Life or VALIC as their investment providers for the VDC. 


3

TIAA-CREF’s role 

As plan administrator of the VDC Program, you will have direct contact 

with TIAA-CREF. 

As third-party administrator TIAA-CREF will: 

• Operate the recordkeeping system for common remitter services 

• Manage reporting 

• Help you onboard your agency 

• Collaborate with you on the day-to-day operations of the program 

• Coordinate data transition to all investment providers 

• Manage the employee enrollment system 

• TIAA-CREF is also an investment provider under the program 


4

Getting Ready For Implementation 

Data Submission Requirements 


Getting ready for implementation 

Your role as plan administrator 

Key activities you should perform (as applicable) to prepare your agency 

for July 1: 

• Start working with your payroll provider to onboard your agency in the 

VDC Program 

• Work with your payroll provider and TIAA-CREF to determine the data 

file type applicable to your agency 

• Create a remittance file 

– TIAA-CREF will work directly with the OSC and the OPA to create a file. 

– Other Agencies will create their own file 

• Establish an escrow account and the escrow process 

• Prepare to communicate to eligible new employees 


6


Data administration & requirements 

• Employee data should be transmitted to TIAA-CREF using the 

TIAA-CREF secure Administrator Web Center 

• Create and support the file format based on your agency’s profile. 

The two format options are: 

1. SPARK remittance file (>250 participants and/or centralized remitter 

such as OSC and OPA) 

2. Simplified Open Plan Solutions (SOPS) Spreadsheet (250 participants or 

less) 

• Future state SOPS: a self-service online data remittance tool 

available through the TIAA-CREF secure Administrator Web 

Center will replace the Simplified Open Plan Solution (SOPS) 

spreadsheet. 


7


Remittance file data requirements 

Your remittance file will include the following key data elements: 

• Employer/plan identification data* 

‒ Plan ID (406081), Sub plan ID (GR1), Location code and payroll frequency 

codes. 

• Employee basic demographic data 

‒ SSN, Employee IDs, Employee Name, Address, Residency Code, Date of 

Birth, email address. (Preferred items include Employee Title, Gender, 

Marital status, Phone number) 

• Employee contribution data 

‒ Payroll Date, Contribution Source Code and Contribution Amount. 

‒ This section allows you to include multiple money sources associated with 

the participant for the plan. Data is provided by Plan/Product. 

*Provided by TIAA-CREF 


8


Expanded file data requirements AND file naming requirement 

In addition, remittance files should also include the following expanded data 

elements and follow the file naming : 

• Employee employment data 

‒ HR location, HR Subarea (for Employee Class designations), Date of hire, 

Employment, Employment Status Date, Employee Type (Full or Part-Time), 

Payroll Mode (Normal - 100), Annual Salary, Per Pay Compensation (includible 

compensation) 

• Employee enrollment data 

– Employee Status, Plan Entry Date 

• All remittance files must be submitted with the following file naming 

convention: 

– Production File Naming Standards: 

FILETYPE_CLIENTID_EMPLOYERID_LOCATIONID_PLAN/PAY_GROUP_YYMMDD_HHMMSS.TXT 

Example: CR_406081_406081___120108_113000.TXT 


9


Format: SPARK file remittance file overview 

SPARK Format (>250 participants and/or centralized remitter such as OSC and OPA): 

• TIAA-CREF uses the SPARK layout for this file type 

‒ Layout will allow the adoption of future services such as eligibility, limits 

monitoring, and employer calculations 

‒ Pipe delimited file format following SPARK Institute Standard format 

• File requires a row of data per plan / product 

• The Census / remittance file is transferred by the payroll provider to the 

TIAA-CREF after each payroll is run. 

‒ SPARK Remittance files must be transferred via SFTP* 

• File includes updates on census data, salary, deferral updates, and 

position changes 

• File includes newly eligible employees and current payroll information 

• Testing is a six to eight-week iterative approach 

*Secure File Transfer Protocol 


10


Format: Simplified Open Plan Solutions (SOPS) file layout 

SOPS Format (250 participants or less) : 

• Remittance Excel file format 

• Simple format designed for locations with a small number 

of employees 

• Can be easily uploaded to TIAA-CREF via the Plan Administrator Web 

Center for processing thru file exchange 

• The addition of services may require a transition to SPARK file layout 


11


Initial steps 

The implementation process associated with creating and testing a file 

can take six to eight weeks: The steps include: 

• Step 1: Payroll vendor or IT Provider 

– Create file according to layout specifications and instructions 

– Submit a test file and payroll schedule before April 26 

• Step 2: TIAA-CREF testing includes 

– Validation of file format 

– Certification of data 

Note: All files must be certified by June 1. 


12


Submit your data file 

Best Practices for submitting your data file: 

• Before loading data you should audit the file to ensure that the file 

format was not impacted when you created the file. All required fields 

should be populated according to the file specifications. 

• Submit your data file to TIAA-CREF either by file exchange or secure 

file transfer protocol (SFTP). 

– Census remittance file must be submitted based on your predetermined 

payroll schedule, no fewer than three (3) business 

days before the payroll date. 

– Once your census remittance file is determined to be in good 

order. 

– Notification of funding will be made to agency (by email) of 

the Good Order Status of the data. 


13


Contribution funding 

Remittance of contribution funding: 

• Monies for contribution should only be remitted after you have received 

confirmation that your file is in “Good Order.” 

• TIAA-CREF will provide you with a report with breakdown of amount to 

each investment provider. 

• Contribution funding can be accomplished using one of the two 

methods described below. 

– Federal Wire 

– Automated Clearing House (ACH) 


14

Implementation and Ongoing 

Administration of the VDC Program 


Ongoing administration 


Key activities for ongoing administration of the Program 

• Determine eligibility 

• Communicate the Program to all eligible employees and provide 

enrolling instructions 

• Add eligible employees to the remittance file 

• Determine vesting 

• Perform contribution administration 

• Perform funding administration 

• Submit periodic payroll & reporting data files 

• Manage the escrow account and process 

• You may also have contact with all investment providers under the 

Program which are: TIAA-CREF, VALIC, ING and MetLife. 

Note: Many of the ongoing administration requirements may be 

performed by your payroll provider. 


16


Communicate the Program to eligible employees (sample communications) 

www.suny.edu/benefits/vdc.cfm 

(for general information) 

www.tiaa-cref.org/nysvdc 

(account enrollment & management 

currently under development) 

VDC Retirement Plan Website 


17


Provide enrollment directions to employees 

TIAA-CREF will provide this how to enroll information. 

Employee How to Enroll 

Example only 


18


Employees will enroll following three steps 

To enroll, employees will complete three steps. Entry point for enrollment 

is the new VDC Program Retirement Plan website at www.tiaacref.org/nysvdc. 

1. Retirement Program Election (RPE) 

Registration for creating secure ID and 

password. Submit employee history 

information. HR will receive 

notification to approve employee 

eligibility. 

2. Retirement@Work® Enrollment 

Employee will use this link to select the 

Investment Provider and complete 

enrollment. 

3. Investment Provider Enrollment 

Employee must open an account with 

each investment provider by visiting the 

provider’s website. 


19


Visit the Administrator Web Center to review submissions 

Once an employee submits the Retirement Plan Election (RPE) 

form, as Plan Administrator, you will need to log in to The Administrator Web 

Center and check for “alerts” regarding employee Retirement Plan Election 

(RPE) submission. 


20


Approve or decline new employee enrollments 

HR selects “Pending Plan Election Requests” tab where they will have 

access to the details of each employee’s request. You will: 

• Qualify each pending request 

• Approve or decline 

• Instruct employee to complete Retirement@Work enrollment once they are 

approved to participate. 

Approve 

OR 

Decline 


21


Manage escrow account 

Employer and Employee contributions should be held in an escrow 

account until participant is vested. Vesting is equal to 366 days of service. 

• Plan Administrators or their payroll provider will need to calculate the interest 

earned while monies are held in the escrow account using a simple per annum 

formula. 

Employee Contributions 

Total Amount of EE Contributions in 

a 366 Day Period 

X 

Interest Rate set by 

Law* 

X 

Annum = 1 

Employer Contributions 

Total Amount of EE Contributions in 

a 366 Day Period x 8% 

X 

Interest Rate set by 

Law* 

X 

Annum = 1 

* Please be advised that the interest rate used in the calculation above is set by 

New York State Law and is subject to change. 


22


What if you don’t have an escrow account? 

• If your agency does not have an Escrow account, you must 

create one. 

• The recordkeeping of the employer and employee contributions held 

is maintained by the agency and is necessary to comply with plan 

reporting. This includes amounts reportable on the employee’s W-2. 

• If an employee terminates before meeting the 366-day vesting, he/she 

may request a refund of his/her contributions. 

• NOTE: If an employee returns to NYS employment, if Escrow 

balances are not paid back, the employee’s membership starts over. 

If an employee chooses to pay back Escrow for time served, the 

employee’s original plan membership can be retained. 


23


Determining vesting 

Employer contributions are subject to vesting guidelines. You should be 

tracking service days for participants in the plan 

• The vesting period is 366 days. There are two exceptions: 

– Vesting is immediate for employees with vested employer-funded retirement 

annuity contracts through approved vendors from previous employment. 

– Vesting is immediate for employees that are active members of ERS or TRS 

with at least 366 days of service. If less than 366 days in ERS or TRS, 

service credit may be applied towards VDC vesting. 

• During the vesting period, the employee and employer funds will be 

held in escrow by the agency. At the conclusion of the vesting period, 

the agency will apply the required annual interest rate of 4% to the 

funds held in escrow. 

• NOTE: Determination of vesting status is contingent upon history provided by the 

employee and validated by the agency. Vested employer-funded retirement contracts do 

not include 457 plans. 


24

Resources Available to Plan 

Administrators 


Resources 

For VDC Administrator only information 

• Each Administrator will be provided a 

secure ID and password that will allow 

them to access secured Administrator 

information. 

• Entry will be through the customized 

VDC Retirement Plan website. 

– VDC Administrator Access Only 

• VDC onboarding guide 

• VDC presentations 

• Implementation timelines 

• Employee communications 


26

Resources 

Telephone Center 

A dedicated New York State Voluntary Defined Contribution Program 

telephone center for Plan Administrators of NY Public Agencies 

If you have any questions, please 888 984-0010. 

This number will be live beginning April 15. 

Hours of Operation: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. (ET) 

Monday - Friday 


27

Resources 

The Administrator Web Center 

• Each agency should request access to The Administrator Web Center. 

– The request form is located at 

https://www.tiaa-cref.org/public/pdf/forms/online_form1_r4.pdf 

• Return completed application(s) using one of these methods: 

– Fax: 800 842-5916 

– Mail: TIAA-CREF, P.O. Box 1259 

Charlotte, NC 28201 

– Email: paservices@tiaa-cref.org 

• If you need assistance in completing the form, please call the New 

York State Voluntary Defined Contribution Program telephone center 

for Plan Administrators of NY Public Agencies at 888 984-0010 – 

effective April 15. 


28

Next Steps and Timeline 


Next Steps 


• If you will have an eligible employee for July 1: 

1. Contact your payroll provider if you use OSC or OPA or 

2. Contact the NYS VDC Plan Administrators telephone center to 

onboard your Agency 

• Refer to slide No. 6 for key activities you should perform (as 

applicable) to prepare your agency for July 1. 


30

Next steps 

Transition timeline 

Milestone Start Finish Status 

Test files submission Today 4/26/2013 Pending 

File certification complete – IGO/NIGO 1 4/29/2013 6/14/2013 Pending 

IGO files tested in preproduction 4/29/2013 6/21/2013 Pending 

Enrollment materials provided 

to Agencies (HR) 

Agency education 

on employee experience 

6/14/2013 6/14/2013 Pending 

5/27/2013 5/31/2013 Pending 

1 

IGO means in good order. NIGO means not in good order. 


31

Questions 


32

IMPORTANT INFORMATION 

TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC and Teachers Personal Investors 

Services, Inc., members FINRA, distribute securities products. Annuity contracts and 

certificates are issued by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA) and College 

Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), New York, NY. TIAA-CREF products may be subject to 

market and other risk factors. See the applicable product literature or visit tiaa-cref.org for 

details. 

Investment, insurance, and annuity products: Are not FDIC insured, are not bank 

guaranteed, may lose value, are not bank deposits, are not insured by any federal 

government agency, and are not a condition to any service or activity. 

You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges 

and expenses carefully before investing. 

© 2013 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), 730 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 

C10030 


33

TC SUNY VDC April Webinar PPT - The State University of New York

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?