F&M Trust Consolidates Retirement Business with BPAS
Aug 08, 2019
Philadelphia, PA (August 7, 2019) — BPAS, a leading national provider of retirement plans, benefit plans, fund administration, and collective investment trusts, has been selected by F&M Trust as the strategic partner for its retirement plan business across southern Pennsylvania.
BPAS began working with F&M Trust in 2007 on various retirement plan opportunities, providing recordkeeping, administration, and trading/custody services to bank clients. F&M Trust began to see differences among platforms and started getting requests for a higher level of plan consulting and HR outsourcing capabilities. This change led many clients to migrate to the F&M Trust/BPAS partnership.
In 2018, F&M Trust issued an RFP for its own corporate Defined Contribution (DC) and Defined Benefit (DB) plans. After reviewing several firms and alternatives, F&M Trust made the decision to consolidate these plans with BPAS. The DC plan converted to BPAS as of 1/1/2019; the DB plan is transitioning for a 1/1/2020 effective date. Combined, these plans have more than $50 million in assets and 600 participants.
“BPAS has been wonderful to work with as bundled recordkeeper for our 401(k) plan. They have provided great value to us as an administrative partner. When we were considering them as a potential partner to provide actuarial services for our Pension Plan, it was a no-brainer,” said Dr. Karen Carmack, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at F&M Trust. “The expertise they have in this area provided us with great comfort that they would be also able to handle the complexity of our Pension plan with ease. It will be nice to have all services relating to our retirement plans under one roof. This factor was significant in our decision-making process to move to BPAS.”
“Having worked with BPAS for many years, we kicked the tires thoroughly,” said Ronald Froeschle, Director of Retirement Plans at F&M Trust. “We felt good transitioning our DC and DB plans because of our overall comfort level with the BPAS people, expertise, and flexibility. We are excited to enhance our retirement plans through this partnership and consolidate the rest of our client plans as well.”
When all client plans are converted, the F&M Trust/BPAS partnership will serve approximately 50 qualified plans.
According to Paul Neveu, President of BPAS Plan Administration & Recordkeeping Services, “The focus of corporate trustees has shifted over the last decade. There has always been a focus on investments and fiduciary processes, but now we see more emphasis on outcomes – working with participants and retirement plan committees to drive key success measures for each plan. Our partnership with F&M Trust is a great example of this. We appreciate the expertise and commitment that F&M Trust brings to client relationships, as well as their open dialogue and constant evaluation of the plan sponsor and participant experience. We look forward to growing our partnership in the coming years as an extension to the range of banking and investment services that F&M Trust brings to the marketplace.”
“One of the things F&M Trust clients have talked about is the vertically integrated structure of BPAS, under which we serve as recordkeeper, TPA, clearing firm, and asset custodian—all under one roof,” added Joe Boyle, BPAS Regional Sales Director. “Clients like simplicity and accountability. F&M Trust clients have been looking for 3(16) services to take administration and communication work off their desk. Just about every HR team we talk to is tight on resources these days, so it has been a popular feature.”
Other services of the F&M Trust /BPAS partnership that have been popular with clients include full online enrollment, automatic enrollment, the MyPlanLoan™ loan continuation program, and the Roadways Health Savings Account (HSA) which can be paired with any 401(k) or 403(b) program. F&M Trust works with clients to help them determine which plan design and set of administrative features will best meet their needs.
About F&M Trust
A subsidiary of Franklin Financial Services Corporation, F&M Trust is an independent community bank headquartered in Chambersburg, PA. For more than a century, F&M Trust has embraced and defined what it means to be a community bank in South Central PA. With approximately $1.2 billion in assets, F&M Trust has 22 community offices in Franklin, Cumberland, Fulton, and Huntingdon counties.
About BPAS
BPAS is a national provider of retirement plans, benefit plans, fund administration, and collective investment trusts. We support 3,800 retirement plans, $77 billion in trust assets, $1 trillion in fund administration, and more than 450,000 participants. With our breadth of services, depth of creative talent, and financial resources, we are well positioned to help our clients solve all their benefit plan challenges without the need to engage multiple providers. One company. One call.
The BPAS family of services includes: Plan Administration & Recordkeeping, TPA, Actuarial & Pension, VEBA & HRA/HSA, Fiduciary, AutoRollovers & MyPlanLoan, Healthcare Consulting, Transfer Agency, Fund Administration, Custody, and Collective Investment Trusts.
Specialty practices include: Auto Enrollment Plans, Multiple Employer Trusts/Plans, Plans with Employer Securities, Puerto Rico Section 1081 Plans, VEBA HRA Plans, Cash Balance Plans, Collective Investment Trusts, and Fund Administration.
BPAS subsidiaries include: Hand Benefits & Trust, NRS Trust Product Administration, Global Trust Company, and BPAS Trust Company of Puerto Rico.
As a solutions-oriented national practice, we are committed to “Solving Tomorrow’s Benefit Challenges Today.” Visit bpas.com for more information.