Vice President - ESOP Consulting Principal Financial Group Excelsior, Minnesota, United States
ESOP companies make a multitude of plan design choices when they first adopt their ESOP and tend not to revisit them until problems arise to trigger changes in the ESOP. Changing the ESOP’s options in the first several years of operation regarding eligibility, segregation, distribution timelines, methods, etc. can help promote sustainability and value from the ESOP before problems arise, but decision-makers at ESOP companies often are not aware of their options and the various impacts of these options. This session will focus on the plan design options an ESOP can take advantage of in the first five years of operation as an ESOP-owned company (and beyond) to address issues before a problem arises and will explain the roles of the company, the TPA, and your ESOP attorney in that process. NCEO Resource: Sustainable ESOPs
Learning Objectives:
Delineate between the different sets of requirements to receive benefits under the ESOP, as well as the pros and cons of different elections therein
Identify different options for distribution timeline and method under the ESOP and the uses of such different options
Understand the different roles of the company, plan administrator, TPA, and trustee within the ESOP plan design process and the benefits each brings to the table
