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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benefit plan through financing, this is accomplished via a third system or outdated programs on cds.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 BCG Technology Solution
To address these issues, BCG'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.
BCG'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, BCG'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, BCG's Technology system is designed to meet your web based
initiative requirements and exceed the expectations of the administrators, carriers and clients.
BCG'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 Bank Consulting Group for a demonstration of our benefit technology.
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