Are You a Fund Administrator? Here’s What You Need to Know

At the YWCA Retirement Fund, we rely on the dedicated administrators at each association to help fulfill our joint commitment to the YWCA workforce. That means making sure that eligible employees are enrolled, that monthly contributions are on time, that we are kept up to speed on changes, and that we know each association’s contribution rate.

Whether you’re brand new to Fund administration or would like a refresher, here’s a quick rundown of the why and how of administrator duties.

As YWCA participation in the Fund is mandatory, it’s important that eligible employees are enrolled with us on time.

Using YETI
If your association uses the YETI system, congratulations! Tracking is done for you. Look out for an alert when an employee is ready to be enrolled. Next:

* In the main menu, click the link You have # eligible employees to be enrolled and select the eligible employee.(The eligible date is shown in the “Will Be Eligible On” field. The qualifying years are shown in the Summary of Hours worked table.)
* You may review the anniversary year hours by clicking the anniversary year link.
* Click “Generate NOE Form” and follow the instructions to create the enrollment form. Sign it and upload it to the Fund’s File Transfer or Association Self-Service portal.

Without YETI
Associations that do not use YETI must track eligibility manually. For a reminder on eligibility requirements, click here. Next:

* Submit a Notification of Enrollment form.
* Upload the completed form to the Fund’s File Transfer or Association Self-Service portal.
* Ask the employee to complete a Designation of Beneficiary form. They may mail the completed form to us themselves or return to their association for submission.
* If the employee would like to make voluntary after-tax contributions, have them complete the A1 form. This form requires both employee and association signatures. The association must then update the payroll system to begin the employee’s contribution deduction and submit the form to the Fund.
* Upload completed forms to the Fund’s File Transfer system or Association Self-Service portal.

Upon enrollment, we will send the new participant a welcome package that includes their account number and instructions for online registration. They will also receive a quarterly online account statement and will have the option to choose “Go Paperless” in the Participant Self-Service portal.

Once a participant, always a participant. That means that employees who left YWCA employment after they were enrolled in the Fund are automatically eligible upon rehire by a YWCA. To get them back in the system:

* Submit a Return To Employment Notice.
* Ask the employee to complete a Designation of Beneficiary form.
* If the employee would like to make voluntary after-tax contributions, have them complete the A1 form.
* Upload completed forms to the Fund’s File Transfer system or Association Self-Service portal.

YWCAs must remit employee and association contributions together for participating employees each month for the duration of their employment. Contributions are due on the 15th of the following month. For example, February contributions are due on March 15.

If an employee chooses to make optional employee contributions through payroll deductions, The Department of Labor (DOL) requires that employee-withheld after-tax contributions be remitted to the Fund as soon as is feasible after separation from the employee’s paycheck. The 15th business day of the month is an outer limit only for optional contributions and more than three business days after separation is considered late.

Using YETI
After the association uploads all payroll files for the month, the system creates the retirement invoice for the month. Payment instruction is shown on this invoice.

* If your association is on auto debit, the Fund will issue an ACH debit for the invoice amount on the due date.
* If your association is not on auto debit, you must complete the payment section to authorize ACH and send the invoice to the Fund.

Without YETI
Associations that do not use YETI must use the Excel template that the Fund places in the File Transfer system each month.

* Download the blank template from the Fund’s File Transfer system.
* Enter employees’ gross pay for the month in the wages column and any employee contribution deductions in the optional contributions column. The template calculates and displays the contributions due.
* Enter the number of payrolls issued during the month.
* Complete the Electronic Payment section to authorize ACH debit.
* Upload the completed form to the Fund’s File Transfer system by the due date. The Fund will issue the ACH debit accordingly.

When a participating employee leaves YWCA employment, please submit a Change In Status Notice to the Fund to confirm. Complete the form when final payroll to the employee is known, then upload to the File Transfer system. Upon receiving the form, we will update the participant’s status and send them a letter that details their distribution options.

Additionally, administrators must update us on all association changes such as name, merger, acquisition, disaffiliation, closing etc. The law requires that we must notify participants of any impact to their accounts in advance, so please let us know two months before the change takes effect.

Each YWCA must elect its association contribution rate for the following calendar year during August to October. Associations may choose to contribute at 3%, 5%, 7.5% or 10% of employee gross compensation, corresponding to the Fund Match of 1.2%, 2%, 3%, and 4% respectively.

Got a question? Visit our For Administrators page or Contact us!