CCC Linn Benton Lincoln ESD Employee Information

ALERT!! Effective 08/08/2008, no changes will be made to CCC’s legacy website, now with Internet address www.ncompliancelegacy.com. Henceforth, www.ncompliance.com goes directly to CCC's new, dynamic, database supported website.

For many months now, CCC has been developing and testing a new, dynamic, database-supported website, which now resides at www.ncompliance.com, while at the same time maintaining this website, which is now our legacy website (www.ncompliancelegacy.com). Development of the new website was essential to allow CCC to provide dedicated sections of its website to more than 50 new clients accumulated since publication of the Final 403(b) Regulations on July 23, 2007. We chose completion of the Plan Document System on the new website as the appropriate time to migrate from the legacy website, even though considerable work remains to be done. Specifically, we will be working with Vendors through the end of calendar year 2008 to incorporate updated Vendor information into the new website. Moreover, 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP) information remains only on this legacy website, but those CCC clients for which we are managing their 457(b) Plans may continue to refer to this legacy website until the full migration has been accomplished.

We are very proud of our new website, especially the Plan Document System and the Content Management System (CMS), which allows Client Employers and Vendors to manage the content of their own sections of the website. We hope you share our enthusiasm and will create links form your own websites to your dedicated sections of the CCC website. Doing so will provide everything your employees need to know about their 403(b) Program.

Roth Contributions NOT Available
Some vendors began accepting Roth 403(b) Contributions on January 1, 2006, others plan to begin accepting Roth 403(b) contributions in the future, and you may have been notified by a vendor that it will accept Roth contributions. However, your District has decided not to allow Roth contributions in its 403(b) TSA Program at the present time. If you would like to encourage your District to change its policy in this regard, contact us and we will inform District officials of your interest. For a current list of those vendors that accept Roth contributions, go to the Master List of Districts and Vendors and scroll down to your District. Check this list periodically, since additional vendors are likely to begin accepting Roth contributions at various times in the next several years.

Why Should I Use These Plans?
Numerous approaches to supplemental retirement savings are available to you, including Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), your employer's 403(b) and/or 457(b) plans, bank certificates of deposit, savings and loan associations, stocks, bonds, and real estate. Some approaches are tax deferred and others are not. This section explains some of the advantages of tax deferred savings and points out some of the unique features of 403(b) and 457(b) plans.

What Are My Investment Options?
The District maintains a substantial list of authorized investment companies (vendors). This section provides information about currently authorized vendors and their investment products. Also, if you are interested in an investment company or product that is not currently on the authorized vendor list, information about how this company can request authorization is provided.

How Much Can I Contribute?
New federal law has greatly simplified calculation of your Maximum Allowable Contribution (MAC), but the calculation remains quite complicated for certain employees. This section gives basic information about limits on your contributions and explains how you may request an individualized calculation from Carruth Compliance Consulting, Inc. (CCC), the District's consultant. CCC guarantees the accuracy of your MAC calculation and indemnifies both you and the District in its regard.

How Do I Begin Contributions?
First you must select an authorized vendor and complete the paperwork to establish an account with that vendor. Then, for 403(b) program participation you must sign a Salary Reduction Agreement (online version available on this website) and submit it to the appropriate District office. This section gives step-by-step instructions for beginning participation, explains how the online Salary Reduction Agreement should be completed, and specifies the appropriate office for submission.

How Do I Change Amounts?
You must sign a revised 403(b) Salary Reduction Agreement (online version available on this website) and/or 457(b) Plan and Agreement Form and submit it/them to the appropriate District office. This section gives step-by-step instructions for changing amounts (and/or vendors), explains how the online 403(b) Salary Reduction Agreement should be completed, and specifies the appropriate office for submission. The rules for frequency of changes allowed and when changes become effective are also provided here.

How Do I Change Vendors?
Again, first you must select a new authorized vendor and complete the paperwork to establish an account with that vendor. Then, you must sign a revised Salary Reduction Agreement (online version available on this website) and submit it to the appropriate District office. This section gives step-by-step instructions for changing vendors (and/or amounts), explains how the online Salary Reduction Agreement should be completed, and specifies the appropriate office for submission.

When Can I Begin Withdrawing?
There are restrictions on when the money you save in a 403(b) or 457(b) plan may be distributed to you, and different restrictions apply to the two types of plans. This link provides information on those restrictions.

What If I Need The Money Earlier?
Under certain circumstances you may be allowed to withdraw portions of your savings early [hardship for 403(b) and unforeseeable emergency for 457(b)]. This link provides information on these circumstances.

What If I Need Financial Advice?
Click on this link for information about the financial advisor industry and helpful suggestions about how to locate one or more qualified, professional, and licensed financial advisors that meet your needs.

Other Frequently Asked Questions
If you still have questions about your employer's 403(b) and/or 457(b) plans after browsing other pages of this website, check out the answers to these Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

Ask Your Own Questions
Click on this link to pose your own questions to Carruth Compliance Consulting, by electronic mail (email), telephone, fax, or any standard mail carrier.

Other Useful Links
Click on this link to review additional websites that CCC has found to be useful for various purposes. We welcome recommendations for additional websites to include on this Useful Links page.

Transaction Types - Definitions
Click here for information about the various types of transactions associated with 403(b) annuities and custodial accounts.

New Rules for Transfers
Effective September 25, 2007, Final 403(b) Regulations imposed new requirements on transfers from a 403(b) account with one Vendor to a 403(b) account with a different Vendor. The Final 403(b) Regulations isolate two different types of transfers: 1) Contract Exchanges within the Plan; and 2) Plan-to-Plan Transfers. Beginning September 25, 2007, under the new Regulations the receiving Vendor in any exchange or transfer is required to agree to enter into an Information Sharing Agreement with the District by December 31, 2008. CCC has advised all of its Full Service and Transitional Agreement Client Districts to require such Information Sharing Agreements be established between the District and a Vendor before exchanges within and transfers into their plans are allowed. Generally, CCC requires that Vendors enter into CCC Umbrella Information Sharing Agreements (updated 02-19-2008) before such exchanges or transfers will be allowed. However, in circumstances where a speicifc Vendor steadfastly refuses to enter into a CCC Umbrella Information Sharing Agreement, and yet a sufficient number of CCC Client Districts request that the Vendor in question be eligible to receive exchanges and transfers within there plans, Vendor Information Sharing Agreements directly with individual Districts are allowed, such aggrements assigning District information sharing responsibilities to CCC.

Authorization Letters
Click on the above link to view and/or print letters from CCC Client Districts authorizing CCC to act on behalf of the District with respect to contract exchanges within the plan and plan-to-plan transfers. Effective immediately, exchanges and transfers will be allowed only to accounts of Vendors that have either CCC Umbrella Information Sharing Agreements or District-specific Vendor Information Sharing Agreements in force.

Vendors Eligible To Receive Exchanges/Transfers
Click on the above link for the current list of Vendors for which either CCC Umbrella Information Sharing Agreements or District-specific Vendor Information Sharing Agreements in force. Vendors that have entered into CCC Umbrella Information Sharing Agreements are eligible to receive contract exchanges within the plan and plan-to-plan transfers from accounts of *all* participants in *all* CCC Client Districts. On the other hand, Vendors that have restricted their Information Sharing Agreements to specific Districts are only eligible to receive exchanges and transfers from accounts of participants in the plans of those specific Districts.

Procedures for Processing Exchanges/Transfers
First the individual (participant or agent) planning the exchange/transfer should check the list of Vendors eligible to receive exchanges/transfers to be sure the "receiving" Vendor is eligible to receive the exchange/transfer from an account of a Participant in the District in question. If the "receiving" Vendor is on the list, then the application process may continue. Otherwise, the desired "receiving" Vendor should be contacted and encouraged to enter into a CCC Umbrella Information Sharing Agreement or a Vendor Information Sharing Agreement directly with the District that assigns CCC as the information sharing party on behalf of the District.

Once it has been verified that the "receiving" Vendor is eligible to receive the exchange/transfer, typically both the "releasing" Vendor and the "receiving" Vendor will have forms that must be completed by the applicant or the applicant's representative. However, sometimes the "releasing" Vendor does not require a form of its own. Typically the "receiving" Vendor's form is referred to as a *letter of acceptance." All appropriate forms should be submitted to the "releasing" Vendor, by the "receiving" Vendor, including copies of the "receiving" Vendor's Information Sharing Agreement with CCC or the Vendor's Information Sharing Agreement directly with the District, as the case may be. If the Vendor has entered into a CCC Umbrella Information Sharing Agreement, a copy of the District's Authorization Letter should also be attached. Neither the Employer nor CCC should be involved in the transaction, nor should authorizing signatures from either the Employer or CCC be required for processing.