Cash Balance Valuations

ASC’s commitment to cash balance design, testing, valuation, and reporting features is unparalleled in the software industry.

ASC supports a variety of cash balance plan designs.

The ASC Defined Benefit Valuation System offers users many cash balance design capabilities, such as the ability to use multiple cash balance formula designs for up to 50 different groups. Formula options include:

• Fixed dollar,
• Fixed % of compensation,
• Minimum or maximums of fixed % of compensation or fixed dollar amounts,
• Step formulas,
• Tiered formulas,
• Fixed % of the maximum 415 lump sum,
• Unitized minimum benefit by person on annual or accrued to date basis to satisfy IRC 401(a)(26) minimum coverage,
• A+B design for plans converting from traditional to cash balance designs, and
• Override options at plan and participant level

In addition to the cash balance contribution credit formulas, ASC supports cash balance plans with the following features:

• Variable interest crediting rates,
• Optional setting to allow decreasing account balances,
• Option to use different projected interest crediting rates for funding assumptions and compliance testing,

• For BOY valuations, recalculate the prior year’s expected contribution credits based on actual compensation and service, and simultaneously calculate the expected contribution credit for the upcoming year with estimated compensation

• Optional use of annuity substitution factors,
• Interest calculations for short plan years, and
• Basic and advanced methods for calculating at-risk loads
• Solve for brand new Cash Balance/DC combo designs for one-participant plans to targeted budget amounts

ASC DGEM offers Cash Balance documents that are integrated with the Valuation system so that once you complete your plan document, most of your plan provisions will be transferred to the plan on the valuation system.

Participant cash balance records are robust and flexible.

Cash balance account components, including overrides, are available for each participant. Many elements are saved to history records during the roll forward process.

Cash balance partial withdrawals can be entered in participant records and reflected in valuation calculations, reporting, and benefit statements. Once a plan is rolled forward to the new year, these values are stored in their historical records.

ASC users can quickly generate ready-made cash balance reports and have the flexibility for custom reports.

We offer compliance testing reports, termination optional forms, benefit statements, as well as actuarial valuation reports that are tailored to cash balance plans. And for actuarial reviews, we offer a variety of checking resources.

Participant Reports include:

• Cash Balance Statements,
• DC/CB combined statement,
• Supporting Calculation Detail, and
• Termination Optional Forms

Cash Balance Plan Level Reports include:

• Summary of individual cash balance accounts,
• DC/CB Combined Plan Reporting,
• Compliance Tests, and
• Valuation reports based on a percent lump sum or annuity payment
• Brand new Cash Balance/DC combo proposals for one-participant plans to targeted budget amounts

In addition to the built-in custom report writing feature, users can export any value stored in ASC for their own reporting needs.

ASC Efficiencies

As with many ASC products, the ASC Defined Benefit product is integrated with our plan documents, 5500s, and client and task tracking solutions! Users can generate their Schedule SB attachments, export plan specification values for client tracking, and transfer participant data for ongoing workflow management. ASC’s Gemini Plan & Participant Web Access System provide secure and efficient on-line resources such as annual census submission.

To utilize all these features, we offer robust online help, DB reference manuals, FAQs, and webcasts focused on cash balance plans so that you can have your questions answered quickly.

Find out more information about ASC’s Defined Benefit System.