In this issue:
ASC Support Expands Its Role in Wake of Katrina
Sarah Simoneaux, VP of ASC Support, wife, mother of two, New Orleans community leader, and President of ASPPA for the 2005/2006 year, had absolutely no more room on her plate for more activity. With only a few days worth of clothes, their car and a few laptops in their possession, the Simoneaux family found themselves in need of a temporary new home in Houston, where the childrens schools were relocating. Immediately after Sarah sent out a mass email explaining their situation, Sheryl Stucky, an ASC Support Team member, and her family offered to share their home in Houston with the Simoneauxs for an indefinite period of time. Sheryl and Sarah have worked together for over eight years at ASC and enjoy a close working relationship as two highly experienced pension professionals. Having the Simoneauxs at our house was both fun and helpful, says Sheryl. We were able to collaborate on some work projects as well as enjoy the time getting to know each others family. The Simoneauxs lived with Sheryl’s family for about a month. “I felt grateful and guilty at the same time,” relates Sarah. We were fortunate that we and our home survived the hurricane but on the other hand we couldnt return home for many months. The hospitality we received from the Stuckys was immeasurable they simply gave and gave with joy. “Without getting religious,” says Sheryl, “We believe that those who have been given a lot need to give back. And we feel grateful for the opportunity to share what we have. Also the Simoneauxs were tremendous house guests. Sarah is a great cook and just as great with my teenage kids!” ASCs commitment to technology enabled Sarah to continue in her role as Vice President of Support and ASPPA President almost seamlessly, by taking conference calls in her car from Tennessee to Texas, answering emails via her phone and running cases on her laptop! Other than the occasional interruptions to get gas, it was almost like being at home, laughs Sarah. Sarah and her two teens, William and Nicole, are still in Houston. Sarah’s husband, Dr. Peter Simoneaux, is living in New Orleans rebuilding his dermatology practice.
Registration Deadline for ASCi Prototype/Volume Submitter Documents: January 15, 2006
Register now for ASCis EGTRRA prototype/volume submitter documents! We must receive your forms by January 15, 2006 to guarantee youll be included as a sponsor on our submission to the IRS. For more information, email
asci@asc-net.com.
ASC Users Save Their Clients Time and Money with Early Planning!
New 2006 ADP/ACP testing regs in ASC software now! ASC administrators can know now, in 2005, which plans may fail the new discrimination testing in 2006. ASCs October 2005 System Update incorporated the changes required by law for ADP/ACP testing in 2006. The ASC system currently tests for Disproportionate Match and QNEC amounts and calculates the Targeted QNEC necessary to correct a failed test. With the new legislation already programmed into ASC software, users can save their clients the time and hassle of dealing with failed plans by keeping their plans in compliance with all regulations. Administrators can analyze current matching or QNEC formulas on a prospective basis and see if they are going to have a discrimination problem in 2006. If it seems like plans will fail these tests, administrators can inform their clients early so they can change their allocation formulas before the year begins.
ASC Welcomes SMART Users
ASC is pleased to welcome the Smart Pension System user community to the ASC family of customers and employees. ASC recently acquired Smart and looks forward to developing strong working relationships with all of its customers. The Smart Pension System was developed by Max Rosenberg, the founder of Intac Actuarial Services, currently located in Ridgewood, New Jersey. After founding Intac in 1977, Max developed Smart for use by his own TPA firm and then marketed it to other firms in the industry. ASC and Intac are committed to maintaining the Smart Pension System and keeping it updated and current. Technical support and software updates will continue to be provided by Intac and its support staff. Smart users can continue to use their current software and upgrade to the ASC system when appropriate. This insures that there will be no impact in the availability of ASC Support to existing ASC clients. ASC and Intac programmers are working together to create an easy-to-use data transfer utility to move employee and plan specification data from the Smart Pension System to the ASC system. Max will soon be installing the ASC system in his office to begin this process, and many other Smart users are moving in this direction as well. Although ASC has no plans at this time to discontinue the support of Smart, ASC is happy to see its software embraced so quickly. Max feels confident of ASC taking the helm of the software company he started. He has known the principals of ASC, Alan Cohen and Alan Gould, for over ten years and through the ASC system, Smart users will now have available to them much greater resources in the areas of research, development and support. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Alan Gould at (800) 950-2082 or
Alan@asc-net.com.
Eliminate the Paperwork Associated with the Roth 401(k) Amendment!
To help retirement plan administrators significantly reduce the workload associated with the Roth 401(k) amendment, the ASC Institute (ASCi) launched the
Roth(k) Amendment Wizard. With the Roth(k) Amendment Wizard, administrators can quickly create amendment packages for all their clients at once, as well as manage their clients amendments with a simple tracking system. The Roth(k) Wizard can be used with any document provider, including ASCis Document Generation & Management (DGEM) system. To learn more, watch our four-minute video at
www.asc-net.com.
