RY Royal Bank of Canada

New Product Helps Small and Mid-sized Business Owners Provide Essential Benefits to Employees by Reducing Administrative Burdens and Mitigating Risk

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - RBC Wealth Management is teaming up with Transamerica and FuturePlan by Ascensus to introduce an innovative new pooled plan retirement solution for U.S. business owners called RBC Group Retirement Plan (GRP).

According to a 2021 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, just 53% of private industry employers with less than 100 workers offered a retirement savings plan, while 91% of employers with 100 or more workers had a retirement plan.

Many small and mid-sized business owners recognize the value of an employer-sponsored retirement plan as part of a competitive benefits package; however, the regulatory, financial, and administrative challenges associated with offering a retirement plan often deter sponsorship. RBC's GRP helps alleviate those burdens and makes it easier for small and mid-sized employers to compete with larger employers in attracting and retaining talent.

Furthermore, the 2021 Survey of Income and Program Participation from the U.S. Census Bureau shows disparities in retirement assets by generation, gender, race, and ethnicity, emphasizing the need for broader access to retirement savings opportunities. The report data showed that in 2020 only 58.1% of working-age baby boomers, the generation closest to retirement, had retirement accounts. Men were more likely (47.8%) than women (43.5%) to have a retirement account. 54% of non-Hispanic white individuals had an account, while only 28.3% of Hispanic individuals owned an account.

"RBC Wealth Management is pleased to add the RBC Group Retirement Plan to our broad range of products and services to provide business owners with an easier way to offer 401(k) plans to their employees," said Tracy Hanson, Director of Retirement Solutions at RBC Wealth Management – U.S. "An employer-sponsored 401(k) plan helps to attract and retain employees and provides more American workers with access to essential retirement savings opportunities."

Open to both existing and start-up 401(k) plans, the RBC GRP will be distributed solely through RBC Wealth Management in the U.S. RBC Wealth Management will also act as the GRP's 3(38) investment fiduciary. FuturePlan will serve as the third-party administrator and 3(16) plan administrators, while Transamerica will be the plan's recordkeeper.

Participating employers will enjoy access to a combined team of industry-leading plan professionals not otherwise available outside of this unique pooled arrangement. The RBC GRP also includes the FuturePlan Fiduciary Assistant^® program, a proprietary 100-point payroll data integrity check designed to prevent most common plan errors flagged in U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and IRS audits. Fiduciary Assistant works in conjunction with Transamerica's PayStart^® approved payroll vendors.

"With more than 20 years of experience in group retirement plans, Transamerica is proud to be a pioneer and stalwart advocate for group retirement solutions," said Phil Eckman, President of Workplace Solutions at Transamerica. "We offer plan participants a wide array of resources to help save for retirement. Transamerica offers a powerful participant engagement program that includes personalized financial education, an online financial wellness center, and a forecast tool to help participants improve their chances of achieving their retirement savings goals."

"We are proud to partner with RBC and Transamerica to help more Americans build financial security through high quality, well-managed retirement plans," said Kasey Price, President of FuturePlan. "Investing in innovative solutions, such as RBC GRP, furthers our long-term commitment to broadening workplace retirement plan access with cost-efficient options designed to reduce both fiduciary risk and administrative burdens for employers of all sizes, across all sectors of the economy."

To learn more about the RBC Group Retirement Plan, employers may contact their RBC financial advisor.

In the United States, RBC Wealth Management operates as a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC. Founded in 1909, RBC Wealth Management is a member of the New York Stock Exchange, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, and other major securities exchanges. RBC Wealth Management has $510 billion in total client assets with more than 2,100 financial advisors operating in 184 locations in 42 states.

Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 92,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our 17 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com.

We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact.

With a history that dates back more than 100 years, Transamerica is recognized as a leading provider of life insurance, retirement, and investment solutions, serving millions of customers throughout the United States. Recognizing the necessity of health and wellness during peak working life, Transamerica's dedicated professionals work to help people take the steps necessary to live better today so they can worry less about tomorrow. Transamerica serves nearly every customer segment, providing a broad range of quality life insurance and investment products, individual and group pension plans, as well as asset management services. In 2021, Transamerica fulfilled its promises to customers, paying more than $52 billion in insurance, retirement, and annuity claims and benefits, including return of annuity premiums paid by the customer. Transamerica's corporate headquarters is located in Baltimore, Maryland, with other major operations in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Denver, Colorado. Transamerica is part of the Aegon group of companies. Based in the Netherlands, Aegon is a diversified financial services group focused on providing investment, protection, and retirement solutions. For the full year of 2021, Aegon managed over $1.1 trillion in revenue generating investments. For more information, visit www.transamerica.com.

FuturePlan is a leading national retirement TPA dedicated to helping advisors, recordkeepers, and plan sponsors deliver better outcomes for savers. Our highly responsive, personalized service is backed by the strength and security of a national leader in Ascensus. We provide plan sponsors with a deep bench of expertise, simplifying the complex and relieving the burden of plan administration, consulting, and compliance. As of June 30, 2022, FuturePlan's experienced team of experts supports more than 45,000 retirement plans with more than 1.9 million participants and more than $104 billion in assets under administration. For more information, visit futureplan.com.

RBC Wealth Management is not affiliated with Transamerica or FuturePlan.

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SOURCE RBC Wealth Management - U.S.