The Plan is governed by eight (8) individual Trustees who serve without compensation. Each Trustee is a Plan participant and is employed by a participating agency. All fiduciary decisions affect them in the same way as every other participant. Their goal is to provide employees of housing agencies with the best possible opportunities for a secure retirement plan.
Life insurance is an optional provision.
On the first day of any month after completing eligibility requirements, unless the Joinder Agreement of your agency specifies otherwise. For example, eligibility dates range anywhere from using the actual date of hire which would allow immediate entry into the Plan as compared to a one-month, three-month, six-month or one-year waiting period.
HART files and has received IRS approval for the Plan Sponsor. Each participating agency has to decide whether it wants to file with the IRS when it adopts the Plan. If an agency does decide to file, HART will assist with the filing.
The employer.
Forfeitures are first used to pay administrative costs and any remaining funds are returned annually to the agency.
Yes, the fee is $5 per month. At the direction of the agency, this may be paid from forfeitures.
No. All load fees and sales charges are waived for purposes of this Plan; however, there are expense ratio fees that are negotiated with each fund. These fees are included in the purchase price so that investment returns are reported net of investment expenses.
Yes, Monday thru Friday between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM EST.
Primarily through the Web Site at www.hart-retire.com or by calling into the automated phone system at 888-801-3534.
Yes, any feature that does not violate the Trust and IRS Regulations can be added, provided your agency has the available resources.
Group Term. If selected, this also allows for Retiree Life Insurance coverage. To be eligible for the retiree coverage you must be at least age 55 with a minimum of 10 years of consecutive service. For details refer to the Group Term Life Insurance page.
Yes. While the Plan offers loans, your agency must choose it as one of the provisions of their Plan.
The employer. As approved by your employer’s Board of Commissioners, the agency elects all plan provisions. This is inclusive of the: Eligibility date, Contribution levels of the employer or employee, vesting schedule, normal retirement age and whether or not to provide life insurance or to offer loans. All of these provisions may be changed anytime at the discretion of your employer.
When a pay change occurs. Contributions are a percentage of pay so that when you either have an increase or decrease in pay, contributions are affected.
Five percent of mandatory employee and employer contributions. There is no charge on voluntary contributions, loan payments, rollovers-in or funds rolled over from a prior plan.
No.
No.
A report is issued quarterly to the employer, and each participant receives a quarterly individualized statement. The most current seven years are retained on the Web Site for access or printing. There is also daily access to account information through the automated phone system and Web Site.