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401(k) ADVANTAGETHE ALLIANCE BENEFIT GROUP–PENTEGRA

Retirement plan solutions should be as individual as you are.

At Alliance Benefit Group-Pentegra, we work closely with you and your Advisor to develop personalized retirement plan solutions that help you and your employees achieve their retirement goals.

Our relationship with you is based on a strong understanding of your needs. Your clients value you because you focus exclusively on their needs. At Alliance Benefit Group-Pentegra, we’re focused exclusively on yours. That’s the Alliance Benefit Group-Pentegra advantage—a partner who offers the right combination of retirement solutions and expertise to help you make your retirement plan a success.

A subsidiary of Pentegra Retirement Services, we are able to draw on the depth and breadth of resources of the entire organization and a highly trained staff to deliver retirement solutions that work for every client’s goals and situation. Dedicated to the retirement plan business for over 67 years, today we administer more than 2,500 retirement plans for over 140,000 participants. Our focus and expertise can work for your business too.

Retirement plan solutions designed with you in mind. That’s an advantage. Our team of professionals works to provide our clients the best possible retirement plan solutions. Among the benefits of working with Alliance Benefit Group-Pentegra is our familiarity with competitive challenges that businesses face today. Our experience enables us to design retirement solutions that build value for advisors and the clients they serve. Those insights lead to an informed dialogue about the best way to build a retirement plan that meets both benefit and cost objectives, and helps you focus on attracting and retaining the employees needed to make your business a success.

Comprehensive retirement plan solutions. That’s an advantage. We offer a full array of retirement plan solutions designed to meet every client’s needs, including 401(k) plans, Defined Benefit Pension plans, Cash Balance plans, KSOPs, ESOPs, Profit Sharing plans, Age Weighted plans, New Comparability plans, 457(b) and 457(f) plans, 403(b) plans, 401(a) plans, Executive benefit and director plans.

Having a dedicated team of experts in your corner. That’s an advantage. At Alliance Benefit Group-Pentegra, we are passionate about service—especially about making the complex business of retirement plans simple for you and your employees. That’s why we work directly with the advisor of your choice—and provide you with a

The Retirement Plan Advantage For Your Organization

2 Alliance Benefit Group–Pentegra

A partner focused on your success.

That’s an advantage.

dedicated relationship manager backed by highly-skilled retirement benefits professionals, including in-house ERISA Attorneys, enrolled actuaries, credentialed plan consultants and compliance specialists. With an average of 20+ years of experience in the industry, our team members are focused on delivering exceptional service to you and your employees.

As an organization dedicated exclusively to retirement plan administration and recordkeeping, we’re able to leverage over 65 years of retirement plan expertise to offer valuable insights about the trends taking place in the retirement plan industry today. Those insights lead to an informed dialogue about the best way to design a retirement solution that meets every client’s benefit and cost objectives.

Independent and unbiased. That’s an advantage. Our independent structure enables us to offer retirement solutions with an unbiased approach, so that you can work with your advi-sor to structure the best retirement program for your needs. With strategic partnerships with the best in the business, we can work with your advisor to select from a broad range of plan investments and custodial arrangements. As an independent organization, we do not sell investment products and are not tied to specific investment or financial institutions, which means you get an objective options for the right investment structure for you and your employees. Our recommendations are based on what will work best for you and your employees—not what we’re obligated to sell—so that you get the best possible retirement plan solution.

A higher quality standard. That’s an advantage. As a subsidiary of Pentegra Retirement Services, we offer a level of retirement plan oversight built on a 65+ year ERISA fiduciary heri-tage. We offer you and your employees the advantage of insights and experience gained in this unique role, and the benefit of industry best practices for administering retirement plans according to the quality standards this role demands. That’s why we are SSAE 16 audit certified. It is also why our dedicated service team is comprised of seasoned professionals, many of whom hold the ASPPA and CEBS designations. It’s why our administrators have, on average, more than 20 years of experience in the industry. It’s why high-touch personal service is the hallmark of our business, and why we’re consistently ranked as one of the top retirement plan providers nationwide.

At Alliance Benefit Group-Pentegra, our reputation is based on the excellence of our people and the quality of our work—not as we measure it, but as our clients do. No wonder we’ve been able to consistently achieve a 97%+ client satisfaction rate, year after year. That’s the kind of quality that sets us apart from other providers, and makes a difference to you and your employees.

We approach plan design—whether it’s an existing plan or a new plan— by first learning more about your business, your employees, and your objectives. Working with your management team and financial advisor, our comprehensive approach to plan consulting results in a retirement program that meets your benefit and cost objectives. • Review of business goals and benefits philosophy • Review existing program • Compare benefits goals to cost objectives • Provide competitive considerations • Compare disparities between existing plan and organizational goals, cost and benefit objectives • Develop new plan design

Plan Design Services


Comprehensive retirement plan solutions.


Plan Design Services

At Alliance Benefit Group-Pentegra, we are passionate about service—especially about making the complex business of retirement plans simple for our customers. That’s why we provide a dedicated Account Manager backed by in-house ERISA attorneys, actuaries, consultants and compliance specialists focused on your plan’s success. Our service team is comprised of seasoned professionals, many of whom hold the ASPPA and CEBS designations, and have, on average, more than 20 years of experience in the industry.

ACCOUNT MANAGER ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Your Account Manager serves as the daily point of contact for your program, responsible for the administration and day-to-day operation of your plan, and works to develop a proactive service strategy through planning, problem solving, plan reporting and review. • Respond to daily inquiries from the plan sponsor and advisor • Process all plan transactions • Ensure accuracy and adherence to quality standards of processing work • Provide a through understanding of your plan’s features and dynamics • Resolve participant inquiries referred from the call center

CALL CENTER

Through our Call Center, your participants can speak with our dedicated Customer Service Representatives. All calls, cor-respondence and records are tracked through a fully-integrated customer service system, ensuring continuity of service and allowing any Customer Service Representative to work with any participant, at any time.

DEPTH OF EXPERIENCE

Our dedicated relationship-management team is backed by our organization’s highly skilled benefits professionals and re-sources, including in-house ERISA attorneys, actuaries and other financial and compliance specialists who are knowledgeable, experienced and trained to handle the varying complex issues surrounding defined contribution plans. Each is well versed in the intricacies of retirement plan management and administration, and fully prepared to handle any issue. Our staff is an ex-ceptionally professional resource for your program.

Our 97% client satisfaction rating is evidence of our commitment to providing high-quality retirement services.

Dedicated Relationship Management

We ensure accurate, seamless conversion by a team of professionals who have successfully converted hundreds of plans with varying demographics and parameters from a variety of providers. Working together with the plan custodian, and investment advisor, the implementation and conversion of your plan is accomplished in key phases.

STEP 1—PLAN DOCUMENT CONVERSION PHASE • Complete the service agreement and forward with current plan documents • Contact from Client Transition Representative confirms receipt and coordinates a call to discuss the conversion process and the next steps • Finalize all plan documents and set up conversion paperwork • Develop customized timeline detailing conversion and implementation process, including liquidation dates, blackout notice requirements, and asset transfer dates. • Prepare plan qualification package as applicable

STEP 2—EDUCATION PHASE • Advisor sets up education meeting schedule with clients • Prepare education material • Advisor holds education meetings • Enroll employees in the new plan

STEP 3—DATA CONVERSION PHASE MILESTONES • Set up your plan on the recordkeeping system based on finalized plan documents • Set up a conference call with current recordkeeper and/or actuary to discuss data transmission and timelines • Coordinate data retrieval process from prior service provider, payroll system and investment manager • Finalize transition letter for participants, for the employer to deliver to employees • Set up conference call with payroll provider, if applicable, to review the standard data layout requirements • Review conversion data • Post indicative data to recordkeeping system

STEP 4—ASSET CONVERSION PHASE MILESTONES • Begin blackout period (if applicable) • Establish participant accounts and investment allocations • Allocate assets at the plan level pending receipt of conversion data • Process contributions for deposit into new plan investment options • Reallocate plan level assets to participant accounts based on conversion data • Activate Internet access for participants, plan sponsor and advisor • End blackout period (if applicable)

Seamless Plan Set Up & Conversion


Having a dedicated team of experts in your corner.


Seamless Plan Set Up & Conversion

At Alliance Benefit Group-Pentegra, your plan is administered by an experienced staff with in-depth knowledge the complex regulations surrounding retirement plans. We offer a comprehensive array of administrative services for your plan. Our detailed processes ensure that your plan is administered according to the highest quality standards. • Daily account balance update and fund pricing • Review and verification of plan transactions • Flexible reporting and data submission • Review of plan census data • Review of common ownership structure and related companies • Determination of Key and Highly Compensated Employees • Review eligibility for plan entry, including rehires, plan re-entry date, forfeiture restoration • Verification of eligibility for contributions and forfeitures • Verification of vesting and years of service • Compilation of annual employer report • Government reporting, including: Form 5500 and applicable schedules (A, C, D, E, G, H, I, R, MB, SB, SSA) Form 5558 (Extension of Time to File 5500) PBGC Premium filings (defined benefit plans) 5330 excise tax payments • Quarterly participant statements • Participant notices, including: Safe Harbor Automatic enrollment QDIA Required minimum distribution Summary Annual Report • Tax reporting , including Form 1099-R, 1096, 945 and 1099-MISC • Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs) review and approval • Plan administrative guide • Annual client surveys • Assistance with IRS or DOL plan audits • Stringent quality control standards • Documented service standards • Annual SAS-70 audit In addition to our qualified retirement plan services, we can provide assistance and expertise in these related areas: • Special retirement plan calculations or projections • Corrective calculations and government filings for IRS plan correction programs • Assistance with IRS or DOL audits

Comprehensive Plan Administration

Alliance Benefit Group-Pentegra takes a highly proactive approach to legislative and regulatory issues and their related impact on plan design, regularly providing updates to clients through both our plan sponsor newsletter and technical alerts as well as through our overall compliance process. The ultimate goal of our compliance process is to improve not only current practices, but also to establish ongoing measures to ensure continued plan compliance.

Compliance testing has often been looked upon as a short-term arithmetic problem that can be remedied each year. By understanding how plan design can impact testing, you can take advance-planning steps to mini-mize both the uncertainty and the consequences of the testing process. Short-term strategies such as preliminary nondiscrimination testing during the plan year may be employed in order to detect and prevent problems at year-end. Alliance Benefit Group-Pentegra helps ensure your plan continues to fall within IRS guidelines while meeting overall compensation and benefit objectives. • Determination of plans to include for compliance testing • Determination of Highly-Compensated and Key Employees • 401(a)(4) Nondiscriminatory Allocations • 401(a)(9) Compensation Limitation • 401(a)(26) Minimum Participation (Defined Benefit Plans) • 402(g) Excess Deferrals • 404 Maximum Deductible Contributions • 410(b) Minimum Coverage Testing • 414(s) Testing for Non-Safe Harbor Compensation • ADP/ACP Testing • 415 Annual Addition Testing • 416 Top Heavy Testing • Nondiscriminatory Benefits/Rights/Features • Comprehensive compliance reporting package • Analysis of testing results • Corrective scenarios in the event of test failures

A Proactive Approach to Regulatory Compliance


Independent and unbiased.


Our daily valuation recordkeeping system was designed specifically for defined contribution plan management. We utilize SunGard Relius administration and recordkeeping system, a dynamically integrated solution for automated plan and participant recordkeeping which ensures accuracy, efficiency and control.

System information is secured at different levels to ensure that only appropriate individuals can access participant information. External access to participant account information is secured through industry standard 128- bit encryption. In addition, appropriate User-IDs and passwords are required to access all financial information.

Full data back-up occurs daily, ensuring superior recovery capabilities should a natural disaster or emergency occur. To ensure the accuracy and timeliness of our transaction processing, we use a combination of technology and internal audit procedures. We also conduct an annual SAS-70 Audit by an independent auditor to guarantee that the program is administered according to the highest standards.

Transaction processing on any business day is defined by the New York Stock Exchange. Due to our multiple custodian approach, transaction requests received before 1:00 p.m. EST are processed that same day. Transaction requests received after 1:00 p.m. are processed the following business day.

Quality assurance features include: • Integrated participant recordkeeping and daily valuation of participant accounts • Daily cash reconciliations • Nightly reconciliation • Internal Quality Control • Annual SAS-70 Audit

A Proven Recordkeeping Platform—That’s an Advantage

Alliance Benefit Group-Pentegra offers a highly consultative approach to retirement plan management and the benefit of over six decades of industry knowledge and insights in designing retirement programs for organizations nationwide.

Our consultative approach extends throughout the life of your plan. As an Alliance Benefit Group-Pentegra client, you can tap into our abundant resources in helping you design and run a successful program. Our in-house legal department has a staff of full-time ERISA attorneys available to offer practical, timely advice and targeted solutions that will ease your administrative and compliance burdens. Our experts are well versed in plan design and document drafting and preparation services. We’ll provide guidance and support with respect to regulatory and legislative issues that may affect your program and recommend ongoing measures to keep your plan in compliance with ERISA, IRS, DOL and PBGC regulations. • Prototype or custom designed plan documents • Plan amendment and restatement services • Plan Adoption Agreement • Plan Qualification Package • Summary Plan Descriptions • Summary Material Modifications • Summary Annual Report • Regulatory guidance • Legislative and technical updates

On an ongoing basis, we will work with you and your advisor to: • Continually review plan design, compensation and cost/benefit objectives • Provide guidance and support with respect to regulatory and legislative issues that may affect your program and recommend ongoing measures to keep your plan in compliance with ERISA, IRS, DOL and PBGC regulations • Implement changes to the design of your program by preparing the necessary plan amendments and document modifications • Provide strategic merger and acquisition analysis in the event of a change in corporate structure

Plan Consulting & Document Services


A higher quality standard.


Plan Consulting & Document Services

With strategic partnerships with the best in the business, we can work with your advisor to select a custodial arrangement that best fits the needs of your plan and your participants. As an independent organization, we do not sell investment products and are not tied to specific investments or financial institutions, so you get an objective view on the most optimal solution for your plan. Our recommendations are based on what will work best for you and your employees—not what we’re obligated to sell.

We offer a seamless trading platform which integrates with nationally-recognized custodians, a single point of access and turnkey settlement and clearance, ensuring a high level of efficiency and control.

Our independent structure enables us to offer retirement solutions with an unbiased approach, so that you can work with your advisor to structure the best retirement program for your needs.

Custodial Flexibility

As an independent provider, Alliance Benefit Group-Pentegra can offer clients retirement plans with an unbiased approach.

Unlike a traditional investment management, mutual fund or insurance company, we do not have proprietary fund requirements or fund limits, which frees you to work with your advisor to develop an investment strategy that’s right for your plan and your participants.

Recognizing the diverse investment needs of participants, we offer access to thousands of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from hundreds of fund families. Fund offerings can be identical to the funds offered under your existing program, vastly minimizing the effect of an operational change on your employees.

Our flexible investment platform also offers the ability to: • Build custom investment allocation models • Offer self-directed brokerage accounts • Offer professionally-managed accounts • Offer company stock • Include daily “unitization” of publicly traded company stock, separately managed accounts or model portfolios

Our fee structure keeps costs low and transparent, and makes it easy to do business with us. 100% of all revenue sharing collected is credited to the plan or used to reduce fees.

Our true open-architecture investment platform enables your advisor to customize investment solutions to meet the needs of you and your participants.

Our Open-Architecture Advantage




Our Open-Architecture Advantage

Our optional trustee services are offered through several of our custodial solutions: • Affiliated trust company will serve as directed corporate trustee for a plan • Provide Certified Trust Reports

Optional Trustee Services

Our education and communication programs are designed to deliver the tools to help your advisor meet participant education needs.

As participants encounter major life events, they are faced with decisions that vary in complexity. Working with your advisor, we offer a full spectrum of participant education materials customized to address your plan’s unique needs.

Our commitment to education does not end with enrollment. Our interactive systems empower participants to effectively manage their accounts by giving them convenient access to detailed account information.

ENROLLMENT KIT Our “Your Retirement. Your Way.” enrollment kit provides comprehensive, plan specific information, available in print or online, explains the importance of retirement planning, investment basics, and the advantages of participating in the plan.

SMARTPLAN ENTERPRISE SmartPlan EnterpriseSM is a video web-based enrollment tool that offers a quick and easy way for participants to learn about their plan and enroll or update existing choices. Live video hosts discuss how the plan works and discuss the benefits of participation, and then guide participants through an interactive process that helps them discover their retirement needs and risk profile, as well as choose plan investments and contribution amounts. SmartPlan offers participants: • Plan Basics: An overview of how the plan works, and why a 401(k) is a great retirement savings option • Retirement Needs: A personalized retirement income needs analysis • Risk Profile: A quick questionnaire to help determine what type of investor they are—aggressive, moderate or conservative, in just a few easy questions • Investments: An overview of the investments available through the plan • Contributions: A discussion of how to choose the amount to contribute to the plan and learn how savings can add up over time In just a few minutes participants can create a personalized Investor profile that will help guide their plan investment decisions. And, they can come back as often as they like to update their choices.

To view a demo of SmartPlan EnterpriseSM, go to: www.abglogin.com and click on the link “Take a tour of our Participants Website,” then choose the “SmartPlan” tab and select “SmartPlan” to view how it works.

Participant Education & Communications


Participant Education & Communications

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT NETWORK The Employee Benefit Network makes plan specific enrollment information continuously available to participants online. Through this innovative retirement plan information center, you can offer your employees 24/7 access to plan enrollment information— including enrollment information, plan highlights, planning and education information, fund fact sheets, kits, information on plan investments, and much more. Essentially, the Employee Benefit Network is an online enrollment kit that you make available to your participants using a link from your intranet or website, or from My ABG Online. From this link, participants can review the provisions of the plan, evaluate their investment options, and learn more about retirement planning and investing, using the same content and graphics that are currently available through our enrollment kit.

YOUR RETIREMENT MATTERS We also offers a robust library of participant newsletters. Easy to read articles cover topics such as asset allocation, diversification, and balancing risk/return.



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24/7 ACCESS My ABG OnLine provides an easy and convenient way for participants and plan sponsors to access and manage their 401(k) plan and conduct transactions 24/7.

PLAN SPONSOR ACCESS My ABG OnLine delivers advanced plan management and reporting tools, making it easy to manage the details of your plan and access secure plan-level information and reporting at your convenience. Participant and plan sponsor reports can be viewed and printed daily, monthly, quarterly or annually.

My ABG OnLine’s landing page provides a snapshot of your plan as of the most recent market valuation. From there sponsors can move to a variety of other sections on the site, most of which allow for downloading of data to Microsoft Excel so reports can be customized or printed as needed. My ABG OnLine provides plan sponsors with access to: • Plan level data and activity by fund, transaction, or participant for any given time period • Plan level reports, including: - Plan Activity by fund, participant, transaction date or transaction type - Consolidated Activity Report (plan level summary) - Consolidated Activity Report by participant - Contribution Upload Center • Plan transaction history • Employee election data • Employee deferral data • Employee demographic data • Plan Snapshot • Plan Participants • Plan Provisions • Participant census information • Plan demographic information • Plan investment allocations • Online enrollment • Plan forms • Summary Plan Description (SPD) • Participant enrollment and education materials • Plan compliance reports and tools • Current and historical fund performance

My ABG Online


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My ABG Online

PARTICIPANT My ABG OnLine provides participants access to: • “Dashboard” landing page • Account information by contribution source • Account information by investment fund • Historical account activity • Full transaction capabilities 24/7, including: • Allocation changes • Loan modeling • Fund transfers • Loan initiation and processing • Account rebalancing • Loan balance and payoff amount Online Enrollment • Personalized rate of return • Account activity • PIN changes • Current account balance • Contribution rate changes • Investment allocation changes • Monthly and historical fund performance • Historical statement information • Account projection tools • Retirement planning tools • Plan announcements and rules

Alliance Benefit Group-Pentegra is dedicated to keeping you and your advisor abreast of industry developments and issues that impact your retirement program. Our team utilizes a variety of communication vehicles, including e-bulletins, newslet-ters, white papers, articles, podcasts and webinars to regularly communicate with clients. These updates are shared on our website.

E-NEWSLETTER

Alliance Benefit Group-Pentegra provides periodic updates regarding your plan through our e-newsletter, including key issues affecting the retirement plan industry as well as communications regarding new product features and services.

RETIREMENT PLAN NEWS AND THE EMPLOYEE BENEFIT FORUM

Retirement Plan News and The Employee Benefit Forum are newsletters designed to provide you with valuable insights about retirement plan news and issues that impact your retirement program and to help keep you abreast of industry developments and related retirement plan issues.

Plan Sponsor Communications


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