ASC Winter 2012 Newsletter

In this issue:

Higher IRS Fees for Individually Designed Plans

ASCi Mass Submitter Prototype and Volume Submitter Plans Offer Significant Savings Plan Sponsors and their clients will face much higher IRS fees if they use individually designed plans for their qualified retirement plan clients or they have drafted their own prototype and/or volume submitter plans in the past. These fees, as well as other new restrictions placed on the ability to obtain determination letters, can make the use of individually designed plans and non-mass submitter prototype and volume submitter plans less practical. Using pre-approved mass submitter prototype and volume submitter plans can greatly reduce your costs and still provide your clients with advantages of having a tax-qualified retirement plan. (Learn more here.) The IRS user fee cost for obtaining a determination letter on an individually designed plan is now $2,500. In addition, individually designed plans may no longer receive a determination letter with respect to applicable coverage and nondiscrimination requirements. By adopting a prototype or volume submitter plan, employers rarely need to file for a determination letter and, if needed, a determination letter filing costs only $300. For practitioners who have drafted their own non-mass submitter prototype and volume submitter plans in the past, the IRS user fees have increased exorbitantly. For the PPA defined contribution restatement submissions due to the IRS by April 2, 2012, non-mass submitters must pay IRS user fees of $12,000 for a basic plan document and one adoption agreement and then an additional $9,500 for each addition adoption agreement. However, the IRS user fee cost for adopting a mass submitter’s prototype or volume submitter document is only $300 per adoption agreement. ASCi will submit its mass submitter defined contribution plans for IRS approval by April 2, 2012. You may take advantage of the cost savings provided by these plans by enrolling with ASCi now. For additional information about the ASCi mass submitter prototype and volume submitter plans and on how to enroll for the PPA restatements, please contact ASCi at asci@asc-net.com.

No Additional Cost! ASC Training & Support Resources for You

Did you know your company’s monthly software maintenance fee to ASC includes lots of no additional cost training and support resources to help you work more quickly, easily and accurately? Here’s what’s available to you and your team:
  1. Contacting Support Directly
  2. For ASC Software (non web based) Systems Users
  3. Plan Document Users
  4. 5500 Government Forms (including 5558, 8955-SSA and PBGC)

Claire May – From Support to Sales at ASC

Claire MayClaire May has been with ASC for 15 years and recently transitioned from Software Support to Director of Sales! Claire grew up in Bridgeport, Connecticut and currently resides in Branford, Connecticut with husband Chris and their Labradoodle Macie. Claire has two grown children, Elizabeth, 23 and Eric, 22. She received her associate degree in accounting from Bryant University and bachelor’s in human resources from Sacred Heart University. It was at her first job, in American Thread, a yarn and thread manufacturing company, that Claire was eventually put in charge of implementing one of the first 401k plans, when the limit was $2000 a year. Here she first learned about the pension industry and decided that this was the career for her.

After 8 years with American Thread, Claire moved on to Pentad, a TPA firm in Waltham, Massachusetts and it was there, under the guidance of Ed Burrows, that she thoroughly learned the industry. Several years later, now working at Wells Lamorello, Claire was first introduced to the ASC system, which was a system running on a Wang computer, and got to know some of the ASC team like Alan Gould and Ken Joseph. Claire eventually decided she was going to open her own TPA firm, however when talking it over with one of the ASC employees they said, “No – why don’t you come over and work for ASC?” Since she was familiar with ASC and liked what she saw, in 1997 Claire joined the ASC team.

Q: You started out in support and then moved over to sales. Can you tell me a little bit about that move?

A: After working in support for ten years and doing a lot of travelling, I was ready for a change and when the opportunity presented itself I was really excited. I did have some unofficial experience in sales in past jobs but never more than that. I love to learn new things plus I knew ASC products are fantastic so I figured promoting them would come naturally to me. For the most part that’s been true. Mary Turley showed me the ropes and we work well together.

Q: ASC’s client base is still growing nicely. Why do you think that is?

A: ASC never remains stagnant. We are constantly developing and enhancing our products and truly listen to the needs of our clients and prospects. With our suite of integrated products, more clients are choosing the bundled approach when it comes to pension products. Our outstanding Support Team is an additional factor to our ever-expanding client base.

Q: What are the main skills that you put to use on a daily basis in your job?

A: Organization! I start out with a list of what I would like to accomplish for the day and try to follow it. Additionally, my love for learning is in full gear. I’m constantly reading and asking questions in order to keep up to date with ASC’s products, new government regulations and the needs of our prospective clients.

Q: What do you enjoy about working in sales?

A: I love selling a product I’m passionate about. It’s usually an upbeat situation all around. I’m enthusiastic about the ASC product line and so is the client! Additionally, I’ve learned that every client has specific needs running their plans and I enjoy working out ways to accommodate them.

Q: What’s helped you be successful at ASC?

A: I make it a point to learn as much as I can about the industry, the products and the needs of prospects. I ask questions and try to retain that information for future use. I don’t like to be stagnant. I’m always trying to enhance my abilities to help clients by keeping current with ASC software and government regulations.

Q: What lesson have you learned on the job that you still keep with you today?

A: Working from my home requires discipline and organization!

Q: Do you have an interesting on-the-job memory?

A: The most interesting thing was filming the videos with a professional film director for the ASC website. It was one of the most difficult and most rewarding work projects I’ve ever done.

Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?

A: I volunteer at hospice, where I feed patients or just sit with them and keep them company. It’s my greatest passion. I’ve always been involved with the condo association and currently hold the position of Vice President. I also love to do scrapbooking during any extra spare time!

Q: What might someone be surprised to know about you?

A: I recently went ice climbing in Maine for the day. We climbed a frozen water fall! I was looking to step out of my comfort zone and that definitely did the job. I had recently attended the Landmark Seminar which teaches you about fulfilling your potential. In order to do that you have to step out of your comfort zone.

Q: After 15 years, can you sum up your feelings about working with the ASC team?

A: ASC is a great company to work for! We have a special bond because we’ve been working together for many years. We bring so many talents and personalities together. Each employee cares about the job that he/she does and everyone is very focused upon doing a great job.

Claire’s confident, get-the-job done attitude is always inspiring and motivating to be around. Thank you Claire for a job well done!

Software Upgrades for Compatibility with Windows7, Server 2008 and Server 2011

Changing your operating system? Do it the easy way: Call ASC Support BEFORE implementing the change. We’ll help you correctly identify which versions are installed, provide detailed instructions for any upgrades necessary, find out the costs involved (if any) as well as discuss any questions concerning upgrade versions.

Today, ASC is compatible with the Windows7, Server 2008 and Server 2011 as long as your third party software is up to date.

The following describes the MINIMAL versions required for each operating system:

Operating system Pervasive Niakwa
Window 7 Pervasive 10 SP3 NPL 5.10*
Server 2008 Pervasive 10 SP3 NPL 5.10*
Server 2011 Pervasive 11 NPL 6
*Requires a net bios install. NPLSecure service install is NOT certified for this operating system. We love hearing from you, feel free to contact us soon to discuss your future operating system changes!