As a business owner, you know that a comprehensive retirement program can differentiate your company and be invaluable in attracting and retaining talent. But managing a retirement plan can be complex and time-consuming. That’s where Trust Company of Illinois (TCI), steps in, offering fully bundled qualified plan services, designed to take the pressure off you and deliver a seamless, beneficial experience for both you and your employees.
Whether your goal is to support your team’s financial future or maximize your own retirement savings, TCI’s qualified plan services are customized to help meet your specific needs while simplifying the administrative burden.
Comprehensive Solutions for Every Aspect of Your Financial Life
Over 30+ years of serving clients, TCI — a trust company chartered by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation — has gained a deep understanding of what small- and mid-sized business owners, executives, and employees expect from their retirement plans. Each client has one advisor who is keenly familiar with their individual circumstances.
With many service providers, you get only part of the picture. TCI provides a fully integrated, five-part service model that covers all key areas of qualified plan management. This bundled approach is designed to relieve you of the burden of handling multiple vendors and complexities, so you can focus on running your business.
The five pillars of our bundled plan service model include:
CONSULTATION
Initial and ongoing plan design consultation and optimization, including the drafting of sponsor and employee plan documents.
ADMINISTRATION
Reliable daily recordkeeping and transaction processing, quarterly participant statements, plan sponsor and participant access via the web or mobile app, daily investment changes and transfers, payroll integration, plus enrollment and contribution management.
TRUSTEE ROLE
TCI serves as your plan’s discretionary trustee, taking on the co-fiduciary responsibilities of managing your retirement plan. TCI also provides full audit support to help ensure compliance with all regulatory requirements.
INVESTMENTS
Discretionary investment fiduciary services including ERISA 403(a) discretionary trustee, ERISA 3(38) investment manager, ERISA 3(21) investment advisor, and annual, semi-annual, or quarterly plan sponsor investment committee meetings.
EDUCATION
Initial and ongoing group employee enrollment and education (both 1:1 meetings and group presentations), high-touch access to accounts and targeted employee communications, plus financial planning software, access to CFP®s, plus resources including calculators, worksheets, articles, blogs, videos, and foreign language interpretation.
Supporting Your Employees Through Stewardship
When you’re focused on taking care of your employees, offering a comprehensive retirement plan isn’t just a perk — it can be a powerful way to demonstrate that commitment. With 57% of workers citing finances as a main cause of stress*, your team needs more than just a retirement plan — they need guidance and education+.
WHY FINANCIAL WELLNESS MATTERS
Imagine a workplace where your employees are less financially stressed, more engaged, and focused on the future. Offering a retirement plan that includes ongoing financial education and wellness programs can have a profound impact on your business. Financial anxiety* impacts nearly half of all employees, affecting their health, productivity, and even retention. By providing a comprehensive retirement program that supports financial literacy and well-being, you’re helping to improve your workplace culture and create a healthier, more motivated team.
ENGAGING FINANCIAL EDUCATION AND SUPPORT
TCI doesn’t just set up your plan — they help your employees understand it. Your plan’s participants will appreciate the hands-on financial education and personalized support TCI offers. From in-person workshops to one-on-one consultations, these services empower your team with the tools and knowledge they need to confidently manage their retirement savings and plan for the future. This approach doesn’t just help your employees reduce financial anxiety — it creates a stronger, more loyal workforce.
Through HT|TC and TCI, you’ll provide a clear path toward financial well-being, helping to reduce stress and foster a positive workplace culture.
MAXIMIZING YOUR OWN CONTRIBUTIONS: A STRATEGIC APPROACH FOR BUSINESS OWNERS
Now, imagine this: You have three children, and naming one as trustee feels like it could create tension. But what are your alternatives and how could they help your family avoid unnecessary conflict? How can you remove much of the workload and emotional burden from your children while making sure your wishes are carried out?
Choosing the right people to carry out your wishes is one of the most important parts of estate planning. When naming a trustee, executor, or powers of attorney, the decisions you make will directly affect how your estate is managed and how your wishes are fulfilled. These individuals will be responsible for ensuring your legacy is carried out according to your vision.
Our in-house trust services through Trust Company of Illinois or Hightower Trust Company, N.A., offer an objective third-party solution. These entities can step in as a neutral trustee, taking the responsibility off your children’s shoulders and handling everything professionally and impartially when the time comes. We help your family avoid conflict while making sure your estate is administered according to your instructions. With our guidance, you can focus on preserving family relationships while we handle the details.
* 2023 Employee Financial Wellness Survey: PwC (https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/business-transformation/library/employee-financial-wellness-survey.html)
+ Workers’ financial stress at critical levels, new poll finds - InvestmentNews (https://www.investmentnews.com/retirement-planning/workers-financial-stress-at-critical-levels-new-poll-finds/249011)
Retirement Plans Tailored to Your Needs
Your plan should work for you. TCI designs diverse plans — 401(k) plans, profit sharing plans, defined benefit plans, cash balance DB plans, SEP IRAs, non-qualified plans, and more — that help business owners save more while balancing employee needs. This flexibility allows you to create a retirement plan that makes sense for your business, while maximizing savings for you and your senior employees.
Your partnership begins with a goals-based exercise, including questions such as:
What goals do you have for employee retirement (age, income, etc.)?
Is there a specific audience whose contributions should be maximized?
Should employee contributions be encouraged through education-based programming?
Is there an opportunity to redesign the current retirement plan to reduce costs?
For Partners and Owners
Well-designed retirement plans can enable business owners and senior employees to make relatively high contributions on a pre-tax and/or Roth basis (up to $69–$300k/year) and reap the benefits. We employee a variety of strategies to design qualified plans that are appealing to both your business and your employees such as profit-sharing contributions, typically in addition to 401(k) contributions. A cross-tested method, for example, allows owners to increase their total contributions up to $69k ($76,500 if over age 50) per partner while minimizing employee contributions. This approach is ideal when owners are older than most employees.
Our focus is to help our clients implement plans that promote the goals of all parties, ultimately fostering a positive corporate culture.
Tailored Solutions for Your Goals
To provide the utmost level of fiduciary protection and enhanced employee options, TCI offers a variety of investment platforms based on the level of client engagement. Operating as an ERISA investment manager for defined benefit plans and employer-directed profit-sharing plans, TCI also generally includes three levels of investment offerings for participant-directed defined contribution plans:
Do-It-Yourself: Roster of Mutual Funds
Ideal for employees who prefer managing their own portfolios, TCI provides a well-rounded selection of carefully monitored mutual funds.
Professionally Managed: Guided Portfolios
For employees who understand their level of risk, but prefer professional oversight by experienced professionals, TCI offers four risk-based, globally diversified, asset allocation portfolios, managed by HT|TC Wealth Partners.
Professionally Managed: Target Date Funds
Appropriate for employees who are unsure of their appropriate risk level, these age-based funds’ risk automatically decreases risk levels as they near retirement.
Seamless Installation: Simple Transition, Immediate Benefits
Switching to a new retirement plan provider can feel daunting. That’s why TCI makes the transition as easy as possible. With your dedicated Transition Specialist managing every step of the process (from coordinating with your prior recordkeeper to setting up participant enrollment and contributions) you’ll experience a seamless implementation that minimizes disruption and enhances your employees’ experience. TCI handles the complexities, so you don’t have to.
Ongoing Support, Long-Term Success
Your partnership and support don’t end once your plan is in place. TCI provides continuous plan management, oversight, education, and updates, adapting to changes in your business or employee needs. With HT|TC and TCI, your plan evolves with you, helping keep you and your team on track for long-term financial success.
A True Fiduciary Relationship
TCI assumes the fiduciary investment manager and advisor per ERISA Sections 3(38) and 3(21), taking on the responsibility of evaluating, selecting, and monitoring investment options for retirement plans. This oversight helps ensure that a qualified plan offers an appropriate menu of investment options based on employees’ circumstances, goals, and risk tolerance.
TCI’s team of dedicated investment professionals conducts quantitative and qualitative research to make sure that investment vehicles serve their designated purpose in a portfolio. TCI has also formed strategic alliances with research partners to broaden the depth and breadth of the investment opportunities available to clients.
Not only does TCI monitor investment and adjust plans as necessary; they also engage with employees and assess their financial behavior to identify the most fitting plan.
Focus on What Matters Most
In collaboration with TCI, we take the complexity out of retirement plan management. Whether you’re focused on maximizing your own savings or supporting your employees, our fully bundled 401(k) services make the entire process simpler, more effective, and tailored to your specific needs. Through this partnership, you get more than just a retirement plan — you gain a trusted team that handles everything from plan design to compliance to employee education, all while keeping your goals front and center.
Let TCI take care of the details so you can concentrate on what truly matters: building a brighter future for yourself, your employees, and your business. A streamlined, stress-free retirement plan is within reach, and our teams are here to guide you every step of the way.
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