The changes made with the RC at the open enrollment only effect the future contributions as of the enrollment effective date. If you are not investing in one of our discretionary MAPs, then this change will not effect the money currently invested in your account. To make a change to the current funds in your account, you will need to initiate a transfer or account rebalance on either the web at www.freedomonefinancial.com or the Voice Response System at 1-800-884-0742.

In addition to lowering your taxable income, 401 (k) plans offer convenience, flexibility, compounded savings, and the ability to self direct your investments.

As an employee, you are eligible to participate in your employer's 401(k) plan once you have attained the minimum required years of age and have completed the required number of hours of service. These requirements are determined by your employer and may be found in your plan's Summary Plan Description.

A vesting schedule is used to determine what percentage of your employer-sponsored account you are eligible to keep when you separate from service. Your employer determines this schedule. A typical vesting schedule would be 1 year = 0%, 2 years = 20%, 3 years = 40%, 4 years = 60%, 5 years = 80%, and 6 years = 100%. You should refer to the Summary Plan Description for your plan's specific vesting schedule.

Forfeiture is the non-vested balance that is lost when employment is terminated before a participant becomes 100% vested in their plan.

If you elect to receive your statement electronically, you will be notified via email when it is ready, generally about five business days after quarter end.  If you elect paper statement, it will be mailed 15 business days after quarter end.

Federal and state income taxes are exempt in a 401(k) plan. City or local taxes may also be exempt. Check with your local tax authorities to verify this information.

A 1099R form is sent showing a PS 58 cost when you have elected to have a life insurance policy through your 401(k) plan. The IRS considers that you have received a "current benefit" during the year in the form of life insurance protection that your beneficiary would receive in the event of your death. IRS methods determine the amount shown on the 1099R form. The sum is not the amount of tax due but is considered "taxable income" and needs to be added to your total taxable income for that year.

The IRS annually reviews, and periodically adjusts, the maximum amount you can contribute each year to your 401(k) plan. You will find an article containing the current year's limits in the News Room section on our home page.

If you were still employed at the time of death, your account generally becomes 100% vested and would be distributed according to your beneficiary elections. Please refer to your summary plan description (SPD) for additional information.

A hardship provision, if included in your plan, allows you to receive a distribution under certain qualifying reasons. All other options, including a 401 (k) loan, must have been exhausted before a hardship distribution would be approved. In addition, the plan Trustee must give consent for the hardship. Qualifying reasons for a hardship distribution are:

• Medical Expenses
• Purchase of a principal residence
• To prevent eviction or foreclosure on a principal residence
• Tuition

Yes. Generally, there is a $75.00 origination fee and a $10.00 check fee to process a loan request. In addition, there is a $75.00 fee for each subsequent plan year that the loan is outstanding. This fee is automatically deducted from the participant's account.

Our email address is clientservice@freedomonefinancial.com

From time to time we may send out an important update regarding the plan or your account, and we want to have your address for these purposes.  You may also be selected as someone to receive a survey.  We send out surveys to try to identify areas where we can improve our service.  If you receive a survey and do not wish to receive surveys, just look for the "remove" button at the bottom of the first one you receive. 

248-620-8111

8031 M-15
Clarkston, MI 48348

The Plan Administrator/Sponsor is the same person as the plan Trustee; you can find this information in the Summary Plan Description (SPD) you received when you became eligible for the 401(k) plan.

The open enrollment is the only time that you are able to make changes to your deferral percentage; however you can make changes to your allocations or transfer funds at anytime using our web site or VRU.

You should contact the Client Services department at Freedom One Financial Group.

If you are married your spouse must be listed as the beneficiary on your account unless they sign a form waiving their right.

Because the 401(k) is considered a marital asset your spouse is automatically the beneficiary, if you wish to list somebody other then your spouse as the beneficiary they must waive their right to the benefit.

Deferrals cannot be withheld from compensation paid to employees after termination of employment unless the compensation is paid within 2 ½ months after the termination of employment and the compensation represents:

1. Payments that the employee would have received if there had been no termination of employment (e.g., payment for hours actually worked prior to termination of employment or payment of commissions); OR 
2. Payment for accrued sick or vacation pay.  (If the employee was entitled to take the leave if employment had continued).

1. Position your cursor over 401(k) Employee Access
2. Choose Check Your Existing Account from the drop down menu
3. Read through the information titled "Important Notice to All 401(k) Plan Participants"
4. At the end of the information, click on CONTINUE
5. At the Log-In Screen, enter your User ID and Password. Please note, if you are accessing your account for the first time, your User ID is your full Social Security number typed without spaces or dashes (i.e., 123456789). Your password is the last four digits of your Social Security number.
6. Click on the Participant button and your account will load
7. Once you have finished looking at your account, click Log Out

Your default User ID is your full Social Security Number typed without any spaces or dashes (i.e., 987654321). Your default Password is the last four digits of your Social Security number.

Once you have accessed your account, we highly recommend that you change your Password to a unique identifier. Select Password Change from the menu on the left-hand side of the screen. Your new User ID may be no fewer than 6 but no more than 12 alphanumeric characters. Your Password may be no fewer than 6 but no more than 8 alphanumeric characters. Once you have changed your User ID and/or Password, you must exit your account using the Log Out option from the menu on the left-hand side of the screen.

You are not required to change your User ID and Password. However, we strongly recommend that you change at least your Password to a unique identifier for security of your account.

By choosing Investment Profiles from the menu on the left-hand side of your screen, you can view a list of the funds we offer with their ticker symbol and current price. All of the fund names, with the exception of the ABN AMRO Income Plus, are a link to the Morningstar.com listing for that fund. Information for the ABN AMRO Income Plus is not available on Morningstar.com because it is a collective trust.

If you are unable to access your account, you will need to call one of our Client Service Representatives at 248-620-8100, ext. 3. Any of our friendly representatives will be happy to reset your User ID and Password to the default settings. If you have locked yourself out of the web by failing to supply the accurate User ID and Password three times, the CSR must have the web lock-outs cleared by our IT Department.

You should always exit your account using the Log Out option from the menu on the left-hand side of your screen. If you fail to do so, it will leave your account open until it times out. This could allow others access to your personal information.

Once you have logged in to your account, you may choose the MAP Instructions option from the menu on the left-hand side of your screen and scroll all the way down.

The Pie Chart on the Summary screen is a visual representation of where your money is currently invested. This will not necessarily match your Investment Elections due to market fluctuations. The Pie Chart only allows 10 slices. We offer more than 10 funds and so you may see a pie slice that is called Other.

By choosing the Account Balance option from the menu on the left-hand side of the screen, you will be able to view your account balance broken down by fund and by money type. If you are in a MAP, you will need to click on the name of the MAP to view the breakdown by fund.

By choosing the Investment Elections option from the menu on the left-hand side of the screen, you will be able to change your elected investment percentages. (You may need to select a money type. Select Employee 401(k) Contributions.) When making election changes, the new percentage column must total 100%; therefore, you must carry over any percentages that are not changing. Once you have entered all of your new percentages, you will need to click the submit button. You will then see a confirmation number and a review of the changes that you implemented. Please note that these changes will only affect future contributions. Any money already posted in your account will remain where it is currently invested.

In order to transfer from individual funds, choose Transfer Funds from the menu on the left-hand side of the screen. This option will allow you to move money from one fund at a time. To initiate the transfer enter the percentage of money you wish to move out of the fund in the box in the From column (i.e. 25%, 35%, 50%, 100%, etc.). In the To column, you need to enter the percentage that you want to go into each fund. The To column must total 100%. Once you have entered your percentages, hit the Submit button. You will then be provided with a confirmation number and a review of the transfer you initiated. You will need to repeat this process for each fund that you wish to transfer money from.

The fees shown are the asset based fees charged on a monthly basis for our services. You pay a proportional amount of the fee based on the proportion of the plan's assets that you hold. For example, if you hold 1% of the total plan's assets then you would pay 1% of the total monthly fees.

When you request a rebalance of your portfolio, we realign the money currently invested in your account with your investment elections. For example: You have elected to have 25% of your deferral invested into Funds A, B, C, and D. Due to market fluctuations, the actual percentages in each fund are: 30% in Fund A, 20% in Fund B, 15% in Fund C and 35% in Fund D. Initiating a rebalance of your portfolio would sell out some of the shares of Funds A and D and buy some shares of Funds B and C. Once the rebalance was complete all four funds would again hold 25% of your total investment.

The Rebalance Portfolio may also be used in conjunction with an Investment Election change. This will align your currently invested money with your new investment portfolio.

You have probably loaded your file more than once. Please hit the Back button to the Select Payroll Period screen. Once you reach this screen, please confirm that the payroll you are working with is highlighted and then hit the Delete File button. This will bring up a box that displays several options. Please select Delete All Records for the Payroll Period and then hit continue. This will delete all the files and return the pay period to Not Started status. You may now hit Next and reattach your file.

You will need to enter the participants original hire date in the Hire Date field and the new hire date in the Rehire Date field. You must enter the date in the MM/DD/YYYY format. Once you have entered your last edit, tab into any other field and then hit Save. It may take several minutes for the changes to save. Once it is done saving you should check for errors again to be sure that there are no further errors. If it returns "No Records Found" then you can continue to the Payroll Totals screen.

You will be able to withdraw your funds based on your individual balances, and the plan requirements, for the following reasons:

• NORMAL RETIREMENT (Usually age 65)
• TERMINATION
• PERMANENT DISABILITY
• LOAN
• IN-SERVICE DISTRIBUTION (Age 59 ½ - if your plan allows)
• IN-SERVICE DISTRIBUTION (Age 70 ½ )
• DEATH

Generally, we will complete the processing of your distribution request within 15 business days after receiving your completed paperwork and confirmation of your last payroll contribution. We require your final payroll information, as well as confirmation that the deposit has been made at the bank before we will process any distributions. This process may take as long as 60 days to complete and is dependent on information from your employer.

The IRS requires a mandatory 20% withholding on all cash distributions. In addition, if you are under age 59 1/2, you will incur a 10% early withdrawal penalty.

Under IRS Safe Harbor Standards, you are only eligible for the amount that would satisfy your hardship. Only employee contributions are eligible for distribution, not gains. Those funds would remain in the plan until eligible for distribution.

In some plans, if you are 55 years of age and have 10 years of service with your employer when you terminate, you are eligible to take an early distribution. Which includes such benefits as being 100% vested and not incurring any penalties.

If you are at least 59 ½ years of age and still working, you are eligible for an in-service distribution.

The IRS requires a mandatory 10% withholding from the hardship distribution. If you are under age 59 ½, you may also incur a 10% penalty. In addition, you will not be allowed to contribute to the 401(k) plan for six months.

• Roll over money into Freedom One IRA
• Roll over money into another qualified plan
• Leave money in the plan if your balance is over $1,000.00
• Take a cash distribution

We offer the services of our Retirement Consultants to assist you with this process and to answer any questions you might have about your investment options.

If your balance is under $1000.00, you need to respond within 30 days of receiving your distribution package. If we haven't received any direction from you at that time, we may automatically process your distribution. If your balance is over $1,000, you may leave your money in the plan indefinitely.

PLEASE NOTE: It is critical that you continue to provide us with any changes to your home address and phone number.

You can only take a distribution from you 401(k) account if you are no longer considered an employee. If you are temporarily laid off and there is a reasonable expectation that you will be called back to work then you would not qualify for a distribution. If your employment is considered terminated due to lay off then you would be eligible for a distribution of your funds.

Even though you are no longer working for the company, you are still participating in the company 401(k) plan. This is a Trustee directed plan and therefore, the Trustee must authorize any withdrawal of money.

If a transfer is requested prior to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time, it is initiated the same business day. Generally, it takes 5 business days to complete the trades and confirm the transaction on our system. If you wish to make changes to both your existing account balance(s), as well as any future contributions, you must request that both of these functions be initiated.

You may change your elected deferral percentage only during your plan's open enrollment dates. The Retirement Consultant assigned to your company will be able to assist you with this and answer any questions you may have.

You may make changes to your selection of investment funds on a daily basis. You may elect to change which funds you contribute to, as well as what total percentage is allocated to each fund. You may elect to make changes for your existing account balances, your future contributions, or both.

The maximum loan amount may be as high as $50,000.00. This depends on your vested balance and your previous loan activity. The $50,000.00 limit is reduced by the highest outstanding loan balance during the 12-month period ending on the day before the new loan is made.

Generally, five years. You should check the Summary Plan Description for your plan's specific loan guidelines.

Yes. In general, the minimum loan amount is $1,000.00. Therefore, you must have a vested balance of at least $2,000.00 in order to be approved for a loan.

A 401 (k) plan loan must bear a reasonable rate of interest similar to the prevailing rate of interest charged by a bank or other professional lender making a loan in a similar circumstance. This rate varies, but it becomes fixed at the time your loan is processed and remains fixed until it is paid off. Generally, the interest rate is the Wall Street Journal prime rate plus 1%. All of the interest is credited back to the participant's account balance.

Loan payments, consisting of principal and interest, must be made through after-tax payroll deductions. The IRS states that a loan is not a deferrable benefit, so the payments do not fall under the 401(k) salary rules. Therefore, loan payments cannot be deducted before taxes.

If your plan includes a loan provision, and you are still actively employed, then you may apply for a loan from your 401(k) account. The only portion of your balance that is eligible to borrow is your vested balance. In addition, the plan trustee must give their approval for the loan. Please see your plan’s Summary Plan Description to determine if your plan has a loan provision. 
Read More

Taking a loan from your 401(k) may have a negative impact on your account, because your money is being taken out of the market. This may cause a loss of investment gains or dividends. Read More

If you terminate employment, an outstanding loan balance will be treated as a taxable distribution and will be deducted from your remaining 401(k) vested balance. You can avoid paying these taxes if you pay off your loan in full prior to your distribution being processed. This must be done within 30 days of your termination date. A loan will be considered in default after 90 days with no payments being applied.

There are two fees associated with the Freedom One IRA, Advisory and Administrative.

• Advisory Fee – This fee is paid to Freedom One for managing your account.  It is 1.25% annually for accounts valued less than $200,000, and 1% annually for accounts valued more than $200,000.  The fee is calculated and billed on a quarterly basis.
• Administrative Fee – This fee is charged by National Advisory Trust for IRS and administrative reporting.  The fee is $40 annually for IRA accounts and $100 annually for non-qualified accounts, and waived if balance is over $50,000. 
  • The fee is deducted from your account on a quarterly basis - $10 per quarter for an IRA and $25 per quarter for a managed account. 

By completing a change of beneficiary form and returning to Freedom One via fax or US mail.  If electing a trust as beneficiary, you must include the front page of your trust document stating how the trust is titled. 

 

No.  The IRA only allows you to take distributions.  There is a 60-day provision which allows you to pay back the distribution without paying taxes or penalties.  However, this is only allowed one time in a 12- month period. 

Yes.  The minimum distribution is $250. 

No.  There are no fees associated with your distribution.  However, you will have to pay taxes and possibly a penalty if you are under age 59 ½ (for IRA accounts).  You will receive a 1099 for your distribution at the end of the year which you will provide to your accountant.

You can take distributions monthly, (in the form of automatic bank draft) quarterly, semi-annually, annually, or unscheduled by completing a Payout Instruction form.  If you choose monthly, you must attach a deposit slip with your account number to your Payout Instruction form. 

Click here for Payout Instruction form.

You can fax or mail the form to Freedom One:
248-620-8111 (fax)

Freedom One Financial Group
8031 M-15
Clarkston, MI  48348
Attention:  Client Services

Auto Enrollment - Employers are taking over the wheel and helping their employees put their retirement plans on “autopilot”. The simple approach is an “automatic 401(k)” sometimes called an auto pilot program. The previous waivers, eligible employees that are currently not participating, have the opportunity to be automatically enrolled in the 401(k) plan on an annual basis, while giving them the opportunity to opt out.

Auto Escalation - In addition to auto enrollment, many plans opt for the automatic escalation feature where employee contributions can be set to automatically increase in a prescribed manner on an annual basis, with the ability to opt out. This helps employees overcome the tendency to remain at the default percentage, and will further increase their savings discipline for retirement.

Benefits include increased participation by your employees, as well as giving each employee a better chance of replacing their earned income at retirement with earnings from their own retirement assets. The Auto Pilot program is a simple approach for you, as an employer, to better prepare your employees for their retirement, and at the same time, maximize your own contributions in the plan by increasing the average deferral percentage for the non-highly compensated employees.

Freedom One will provide the mandatory notice regarding the Auto Pilot Program for you to distribute to your employees. It is required that this notice be distributed at least 30 days before the program goes into effect and this notice will inform the employees about the program and how it works.

Typically, the salary deferral rate used today by most employers is 3%, but according to retirement experts, a 3% savings rate is much too low for most participants. This is an option that can be decided on with the guidance of your Client Relationship Manager, while weighing several factors within your plan including the current average deferral percentage for the participants in your plan. An automatic enrollment percentage within the range of 4-6% is the optimal choice for eligible employees.

The contributions that are made will be invested into a default portfolio based on the age of the participant. In general, the Qualified Default Investment Allocation is more heavily weighted in equities for younger participants and more heavily weighted in bonds and stable value funds for older participants. As the participant ages and moves into a different QDIA age bracket, their investment allocation will automatically change to fit their new age bracket. They may also choose their own investment allocation and not use the automatic age adjusting QDIA.

There is an opt-out form that will be available for the eligible employees to sign so that they are not automatically enrolled in the plan. This form must be filled out prior to the entry date, otherwise they will be enrolled in the plan at the pre-determined deferral percentage.

If an eligible employee has not filled out the appropriate opt-out form, they will automatically enrolled in the plan at the pre-determined deferral percentage. If a participant opts out within 90 days of being auto-enrolled, a corrective distribution can be made to the participant to refund their contributions starting in 2008. For 2007, there are no IRS regulations in place to handle refunds. Eligible employee must take the initiative to fill out the opt-out form if they do not want to have deferrals going into their 401(k) account.

Both Auto Enrollment and Auto Escalation are optional features within the plan and can be selected together or separately. Most plan sponsors select both of these options in conjunction so they can help participants maximize and reach their savings goals.

Highly Compensated Employees will be automatically escalated within the 401(k) plan along with the rest of the participants. In order to avoid potential plan testing failures will we continue to monitor each plan on an individual basis at semi-annual enrollments and fiduciary review meetings. The Retirement Consultants and Client Relationship Managers at Freedom One will help to monitor increases and make recommendations for the HCEs as needed.

Most employers who implement automatic contribution escalation opt to increase the rates by 1% or 2% each year, up to a typical cap of 15% to 20%. This cap will be specified in the plan documents but at any time the participants can stop the auto escalation feature on their deferrals.
 

Auto Enrollment - Employers are taking over the wheel and helping their employees put their retirement plans on “autopilot”.  The simple approach is an “automatic 401(k)” sometimes called an auto pilot program.  The previous waivers, eligible employees that are currently not participating, have the opportunity to be automatically enrolled in the 401(k) plan on an annual basis, while giving them the opportunity to opt out.

Auto Escalation – Employers automatically increase each employee’s contribution percentage on an annual basis while giving them the opportunity to opt out. This helps employees overcome the tendency to remain at the default percentage, and will further increase their savings discipline for retirement.

Auto Enrollment:
Previous Waivers – These employees are automatically enrolled at the first entry date of the plan year while giving them the opportunity to opt out.

Auto Escalation:
Currently Participating – These employee’s contribution percentages are automatically increased on an annual basis while giving them the opportunity to opt out.
 

Freedom One will provide the mandatory notice regarding the Auto Pilot program for you to distribute to your employees. It is required that this notice be distributed 30 days before the program goes into effect and this notice will inform the employees about the program and how it works.
 

Freedom One will provide a report up to one month before the entry date that will list all the previous waivers and currently participating that the Employer should automatically enroll / escalate at the set percentage decided on by the Employer. The report is generated based on census data that has been supplied to Freedom One.
 

The eligible employee will complete an Election Form (opt-out) that will indicate they do not want to participate; therefore, the employee will not be automatically enrolled in the plan. This form must be filled out by the employee prior to the entry date otherwise they will be enrolled in the plan at the pre-determined deferral percentage. The Election Form (opt-out) must be signed by the participant and main payroll contact, and given to payroll contact so the payroll can be properly set up. The payroll contact will retain the form in their records and will forward a copy to Freedom One.
 

The eligible employee will complete an Election Form (opt-out) that will indicate they do not want to escalate and will remain at their current deferral percentage. This form must be filled out by the employee prior to the annual escalation date otherwise they will be escalated at the pre-determined deferral percentage. The Election Form (opt-out) must be signed by the participant and main payroll contact, and forwarded to payroll contact so the payroll can be properly set up. The payroll contact will retain the form in their records and will forward a copy to Freedom One.
 

If an eligible employee has not filled out the appropriate Election Form (opt-out) before the annual entry date, they will automatically be enrolled in the plan at the pre-determined deferral percentage. If a participant wants to opt out within 90 days of being auto-enrolled, they can stop their deduction by filling out an Election Form (opt-out). The form is then given to the payroll contact so the payroll can be properly adjusted. The payroll contact must then forward the Election Form (opt-out) to Freedom One.
 

If an eligible employee has not filled out the appropriate Election Form (opt-out) before the annual escalation date, they will automatically be increased to the pre-determined deferral percentage. If a participant wants to opt out within 90 days of being auto-escalated, they can stop the increased deduction by filling out an Election Form (opt-out). The employee will continue at the previous percentage. The form is then given to the payroll contact so the payroll can be properly adjusted. The payroll contact must then forward the Election Form (opt-out) to Freedom One.
 

All contributions will remain in the employee’s 401(k) account as there are no IRS regulations in place to handle refunds in 2007. For plan years beginning in 2008, a corrective distribution can be processed for the participant to refund their contributions if they choose to opt-out within 90 days after the entry date.
 

The payroll contact must make the proper adjustment to the payroll deduction if an employee wants to opt-out; however, the W2 Forms will not need to be altered.

The default beneficiary for a married participant is their spouse. If there are any auto enrolled participants that are not married they will need to fill out a beneficiary form. Married participants that would like to designate someone other than their spouse as a beneficiary can also fill out a beneficiary form. They can call Freedom One Client Services at 248-620-8100 to request the form.

A catch-up contribution is any elective deferral made by an eligible participant that is in excess of the statutory limit ($15,500 in 2008), an employer-imposed plan limit, or any limit applied in order for the plan to satisfy the ADP nondiscrimination test for the year.

Plan participants who are or will turn 50 years of age during the calendar year are eligible to make catch-up contributions. However, the participant's regular plan contributions must reach at least one of the following limits before a contribution is considered “catch-up”: the annual deferral limit, the plan's deferral limit, or the annual ADP limit for Highly Compensated Employees.

Choose a deferral rate that is large enough to guarantee $20,500 in deferral throughout the year. Keep in mind, highly compensated employees might have a lower limit because of the testing requirement.

Yes, contributions must be made by payroll deduction.