| The
Problems with Most Benefit Plan Technology
In today's environment, navigating the nonqualified
benefits market is often like running a maze. A variety of highly
segregated processes exist in the industry. Most nonqualified benefit
firms maintain two separate systems - one system for designing a
benefit plan and a second system for administering the plan. And,
if a client wishes to improve the cost-efficiency of the benefit
plan through financing, this is accomplished via a third system
or outdated programs on cds. The results from these three systems
are generally combined through an excel spreadsheet. Because of
the complexity of this process, customers are often not given much
flexibility or choice with the final plan design.
Once a plan design is accepted, it must be redesigned into the benefit
firm's administration system, often generating similar, but not
identical, results. The financing asset, in contrast is administered
on the asset provider's separate administration system. As a result,
daily matching of financing assets to benefit liabilities is rare.
And, ongoing projections and illustrations of results must be compiled
by a team of actuarial staff on computer spreadsheets. This invariably
leads to delays in results, contradictory results, inefficiencies,
unnecessary exposure to error and, ultimately, to client dissatisfaction.
Finally, administrators and financing asset providers are tasked
with maintaining all of these ever-growing, costly and inefficient
systems, along with the additional burden of attracting and employing
the specialists needed to maintain them.
The TCG Technology Solution
To address these issues, TCG's technology system
was developed from the ground up. Utilizing a Joint Application
Development approach, the system was designed through the active
participation of administrators and financing asset providers working
with a technology staff over a period of 48 months. The result is
a feature-rich, easy-to-use, multi-faceted, web-based system that
truly meets the needs of clients and plan participants.
TCG's technology system provides a single source for all design,
implementation and administration value calculations for both the
benefit plan and the financing assets. (Achieving this level
of integration eliminates any discrepancies between the design and
administration processes.)
Through a common, Internet-based interface and single point of access,
TCG's technology is easy to use and has a consistent "look and feel"
throughout the entire system.
By providing secure, encrypted internet access, multi-tasking functionality,
selective data sharing of cases, instant access to in-force projections
and values, minimal hardware requirements and our multi-carrier
platform functionality, TCG's Technology system is designed to meet
your web based initiative requirements and exceed the expectations
of the administrators, carriers and clients.
TCG's system provides added value for its clients
through:
-
Dramatic savings in plan administration
costs (minimal dependence on human processing),
-
Accurate and timely information,
-
Plan design flexibility,
-
Ease of transition from design to
administration,
-
Online enrollment,
-
Online access to plan information
and transaction processing,
-
Timely, accurate client reporting,
-
Daily balancing of financing assets
to benefit plan liabilities and
-
State-of-the-art security.
Contact
The Cochlan Group for a demonstration of our benefit
technology.
|
