New Plan Setup

Congratulations on your new 401(k) plan!

We’re excited to partner with you and want to make sure that your plan setup happens on schedule and is problem free. To do so, Pinnacle Financial Services (Pinnacle) is pleased to help you with a checklist to complete the transfer process, but before we begin, we need to get some important and sensitive information from you.

Plan Setup Checklist

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First, what is your business structure? We need to know if you’re an S corp, partnership, or C corp. We also need your legal plan name, not just your doing business as (or DBA) for the plan document (legal papers that set your plan specifications).

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Second, who are your highly compensated employees, or HCEs? We realize this information is sensitive and we treat it as such, however, it’s required in order to complete certain testing required by the Department of Labor.

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Third, and equally sensitive, who are the owners and do they own other companies? We need this information to determine if your business is part of a “controlled group.” A controlled group is a specific technical definition and is any two or more corporations connected through common ownership. This information is required as the DOL has guidelines on how these plans are to be established and maintained.

If you have any questions about other items on the checklist, please call our New Plans Team at (561) 547-4200 or send us an email: newplaninfo@pfslink-e.com.

The Transfer Process

Once we have a complete checklist, the transfer process will officially begin. We’ll start collecting information from you and your prior plan provider. But there’s two things we need right away:

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We need your prior plan document and your adoption agreement. We use these to create your new adoption agreement, so we can mirror how your plan is currently set up. However, if you want to change your plan design, we’re happy to assist you with those changes.
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We’ll also need your most recent census file to help us determine which participants we’ll need to provide notice of the upcoming transfer. If you need help formatting this information, please call us.
You Have a Business to Run

We know you have a business to run and we try to make this process as easy as possible. To help us do that, we’ll send you a letter of authorization that you’ll need to sign and return. This will allow us to speak directly to your prior TPA and investment company on your behalf to obtain any documents or data we may need.

Weekly Calls

We’ll schedule weekly calls with you and your assigned Pinnacle transfer specialist. During these calls, we’ll review the status of your transfer, outstanding items, and address any questions you may have. The data included here is just a quick reminder of some critical items needed for a timely transfer and set up of your retirement plan.

If you have any questions, call or email us. We’re here to help.

Pinnacle has over 30 years of commitment to administering 401(k) plans.