Securian Financial announced April 9 that it is waiving all COVID-19 related 401(k) distribution fees for the retirement plans it serves as recordkeeper and, moving forward, will permanently make all hardship distributions fee-free to customers—regardless of the triggering event.
Securian also says that it will act as an ERISA 3(16) fiduciary for participant distributions and loans under the CARES Act, at no additional cost, for its existing full-service 401(k) employer clients that provide relief to their employees under the CARES Act. The firm also plans to waive the ordinary applicable plan amendment fee.
In general, the CARES Act permits individuals to withdraw until the end of 2020 up to $100,000 from their 401(k) without paying an extra 10% penalty provided the plan allows for such distributions. The legislation also allows plans to increase the loan limit to the lesser of $100,000 or 100% of the participant’s vested account balance.
The company will also provide these clients with a suite of wellness services to make available to their employees free of charge through the end of the year, including access to financial and grief counselors, self-service tools to prepare legal documents, such as a will, power of attorney or health care directive, and relevant educational tool
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“Many of our retirement plan customers are struggling and need help during this challenging time,” explains Ted Schmelzle, Securian Financial’s Senior Director of Retirement Solutions. “We are here to support them and their employees by providing financial relief and one-on-one wellness counseling resources, at no cost, to those who need it most.”
Several other national service providers have announced in recent days that their firms are moving forward in waiving fees and helping their clients adopt the new retirement relief provisions under the CARES Act.
