1) Ameritas EZ(k)
®
A Retirement Plan for Your Business
Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. of New York
RP 2445 NY 1-16
For Financial Professional and Plan Sponsor Use Only.
2) Ameritas EZ(k)
Fast Facts
• A group variable annuity contract that uses a
Safe Harbor 401(k) plan design
• Day-to-day fiduciary investment risk is
mitigated by Mesirow Financial Management,
Inc. (Mesirow Financial), the ERISA Section
3(38) investment manager*
• Highly compensated/key employees aren’t
limited by the contributions of other employees
• Discrimination testing for deferred and
matching contributions is eliminated
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Ameritas EZ(k)
• Employers match 100% of salary deferrals
up to the first 4% of compensation deferred
• Employee contributions may be pre-tax
salary deferrals, post-tax Roth contributions
and catch-up contributions (50+)
*The specific instances in which a party may be entitled to
indemnity are set forth in detail in the agreement between the
plan sponsor and Mesirow Financial, and nothing herein is
intended to modify that agreement.
3) Fulfilling the Needs
of a Small Business
Why shouldn’t a small business be able to offer
its employees retirement benefits comparable to
those available to large companies? And why are
existing plans so time consuming that it’s actually
better not to have one? We’re just as baffled.
So we put together a simple, flexible 401(k) plan
for small businesses. It provides the benefits of
a larger plan, yet fits the needs and business
objectives of smaller companies. More importantly,
this plan helps employees protect their future and
what they’ve worked so hard to attain. The way
we see it, the more we can do to help minimize
worry, the more opportunity there is for life to be
maximized. For small businesses. For employers.
For employees.
ERISA Section 3(38) investment manager, can use
to create and to manage an investment lineup that
helps meet the retirement savings goals for you and
your employees.
In the Business of
Making Life Better
We may be an experienced company offering
competitive insurance, retirement and investment
products, but we don’t think that’s enough. Our
knowledgeable associates do whatever it takes to
help fulfill the lives of every customer. Part of that
is being attentive, approachable and responsive.
Delivering on our promise of helping make life
better. It’s what we do daily for our customers,
employees and families.
Enhancing the Future
Through a Focused Approach
We have a very clear vision for our retirement
planning products: invest wisely to help grow assets.
To do so, we look at the investment landscape
through qualitative and quantitative research which
serves as the basis for our proprietary Investment
Selection Process. These results help us provide an
investment platform that Mesirow Financial, as the
a retirement plan
should complement
your business, not
complicate it.
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4) Ameritas EZ(k) overview
Plan Design
Services
Plan Year
January 1 - December 31
Eligibility
Age 21 and 1 year of service
Plan Entry
Semi-annual entry dates
Employee
Contributions
• Pre-tax salary deferrals
• Roth contributions (post-tax)
• Catch-up contributions (50+)
• Safe Harbor match − per payroll
• Discretionary match − per payroll
• Discretionary profit-sharing
(pro-rata)
Loans
Yes
Vesting − Safe Harbor
Match
6 year graded
Participant Directed
Yes
Normal Retirement Age
Wages, tips, pre-tax deferrals and
other compensation (415)
Quarterly Participant
Statements
Electronic account statements
feature fee disclosure
ERISA Section 3(38)
Fiduciary Services
from Mesirow
Financial
Mesirow Financial’s “do it for me”
service provides fiduciary coverage
for the selection and monitoring of
investment options
Fiduciary Assistance
Resources include our Fiduciary
Guide and Plan and Participant
Fee Disclosure
Investment Selection
Process
Our proprietary process selects
and monitors the investment
platform that Mesirow Financial
uses to create the investment
lineup for Ameritas EZ(k)
Asset Allocation Models
Five models — aggressive, capital
growth, balanced, moderate and
conservative — help participants
select appropriate investments
Target Date Funds
These popular funds automatically
reset the asset mix of a portfolio
according to the selected time
frame of the participant
Investment Education
Retire Focus is an online resource
featuring information and
calculators to guide participants
as they save for retirement
You will have a customized
website that offers tools, resources
and information for participants to
manage their retirement accounts
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Compensation
Customized information, forms and
educational resources promote
retirement savings
100% up to 4% of compensation
deferred
Vesting − Discretionary
Match and Profit
Sharing
Enrollment Kits
Optional
In-Service Distributions
Maintain participant records by
fund, source and investment option
Website
Employer
Contributions
Recordkeeping
Special Credit
Businesses that set up a new qualified retirement plan for employees may qualify for a special tax credit—up
to 50% of the first $1,000 in administrative and retirement education expense. Answer the following questions:
• Do you have at least one non highly compensated employee?
• Are there 100 or fewer employees?
• Did each employee earn more than $5,000 last year?
If you answered “yes” to each of these, we encourage you to talk to your tax advisor to see if you are
eligible for a tax credit. Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. of New York does not provide tax or legal advice.
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Ameritas EZ(k)
5) Investments
SMALL
MID
LARGE
Value
Blend
Growth
T. Rowe Price Value
American Funds Fundamental Investors
Vanguard® 500 Index
T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth
American Century Mid Cap Value
Vanguard® Strategic Equity
Ivy Mid Cap Growth
American Beacon Small Cap Value
DFA US Small Cap
Vanguard® Small Cap Index
Janus Triton
Intermediate – Term Bond
High Yield
Janus Flexible Bond
Vanguard® Total Bond Market Index
Calvert High Yield Bond
Ameritas Stable Fixed Investment Account*
Ameritas Guaranteed Investment Account*
Foreign
Emerging Markets
Money Market
American Funds® International
Growth and IncomeSM
Morgan Stanley Inst Emerging Markets
Fidelity® VIP Government Money Market
®
Included for Plan Participants if the plan selects
the Ameritas Guaranteed Investment Account.
Vanguard® Total International
Stock Index
Real Estate
TIPS
Vanguard REIT Index
Vanguard Inflation
Protected Securities
®
Cash Equivalents/Principal FocusedExtended Duration
Commodities
®
Calvert VP Natural Resources
Target Date
Allocation
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2010
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2020
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2025
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2030
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2035
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2040
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2045
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2050
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2055
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2060
American Funds® Income Fund of America®
* lan Sponsors can select either the Ameritas Guaranteed Account or the Ameritas Stable Fixed Investment Account for their
P
investment platform and maintain fiduciary coverage. The Plan Sponsor must pick one (and only one) of the two options available.
The Ameritas Guaranteed Account is a principal focused—extended duration investment option. It will have underlying fixed income
investments with a longer average duration than a cash equivalent. It refers to the guaranteed account of Ameritas Life Insurance Corp.
of New York. Plan Sponsors should carefully review the group variable annuity contract for applicable limits, rules, restrictions and
payout options.
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6) we’re ready to help
Planning for a More
Rewarding Retirement
A retirement plan can be a valuable benefit—to
you, to your employees and to your business’s
reputation as a great place to work. It should be a
welcome addition that complements your business,
not complicates it. We are ready to help.
A retirement plan gives your employees a convenient
way to save. Will they sign up? Will they understand
the importance of starting early? We’re here to help
with online articles, videos and interactive tools that
get participants involved. Here they can “crunch the
numbers” themselves and try out different scenarios.
And while the results are hypothetical, they can be
persuasive in determining a saving strategy
for retirement.
Helping Reduce Your
Fiduciary Risk
The plan sponsor of a retirement plan takes on
additional risks and responsibilities. One of the
most important is selecting the investment platform.
As the investment manager for the Ameritas EZ(k),
Mesirow Financial provides an additional level of
fiduciary protection.
ERISA Section 3(38) Coverage
As the designated investment manager for the
Ameritas EZ(k), Mesirow Financial provides ERISA
Section 3(38) fiduciary coverage. In addition, it
assumes full discretion for selecting, monitoring and
replacing the investment option, if necessary.
This level of ERISA Section 3(38) investment
fiduciary protection relieves the plan sponsor of
due diligence and monitoring of plan investments.
Basic services include:
• Designated investment fiduciary
• Quarterly reporting via the Mesirow Financial
POLICE® Report®
• Evaluation, selection and monitoring of the
investment lineup
• Quarterly review of the lineups
The value of this service is that it mitigates the
fiduciary responsibilities and potential liability
associated with sponsoring a qualified plan.* Plan
sponsors benefit from the values of sponsoring
a qualified plan, but without taking on the entire
fiduciary responsibility.
*The specific instances in which a party may be entitled to
indemnity are set forth in detail in the agreement between the
plan sponsor and Mesirow Financial, and nothing herein is
intended to modify that agreement.
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Ameritas EZ(k)
Enrollment: Your customized enrollment book
highlights the features of your plan. It includes a stepby-step guide to help participants choose a savings
strategy that is well-suited to their retirement goals.
Retirement Planning: The Retire Focus section on
our website features tutorials, videos and interactive
charts. These can help plan participants decide
on a retirement saving strategy designed to meet
their financial goals. In addition, Your Financial
Future is a quarterly newsletter with timely tips and
information. On our website, participants can track
their progress by checking their account balance. If
allocation adjustments are needed, they can make
them online at any time.
Asset Allocation: How do your plan participants
know which investments to choose? Our asset
allocation model questionnaire helps participants
determine which model may be best suited for
them. Asset allocation models are designed to help
diversify the participant’s holdings in a way that
balances their tolerance for risk against potential
rewards, while remaining focused on achieving their
retirement savings goals. The models recommend
allocations determined to be consistent with an
investment risk profile. Implementation does not
guarantee a profit or protect against a loss.
7) ameritas.com: You can log on to our secure
website whenever you like. Plan sponsors can
manage online contributions and annual reporting,
access forms and do various inquiries. Participants
can conduct transactions, view their account
statements, use the calculators and take advantage
of the educational resources whenever it is
convenient for them.
The Financial Strength to
Deliver on Our Promises
planning, saving and
working together to help
enjoy life at its very best.
Financial Strength Ratings
We are a mutual organization that always puts
customers first. With our long-standing financial
strength, we’ve established a tradition of delivering
the very best in products and services generation
after generation. Though we’re proud of our group
ratings from Standard & Poor’s and A.M. Best
Company, we measure our success by how many
people we’ve helped. By how many promises
we’ve kept. That’s the true measure of who we are.
Standard & Poor’s: A+ (Strong) for insurer financial
strength. This is the fifth highest of Standard &
Poor’s 21 ratings.
A.M. Best Company: A (Excellent) for financial
strength and operating performance. This is the
third highest of A.M. Best’s 15 ratings.
We are Ameritas: proud to be in the business of
fulfilling life.
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8) Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. of New York
Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. of New York
Retirement Plans Division
1350 Broadway, Suite 2201
New York, NY 10018
800-923-2732
ameritas.com
This information is provided by Ameritas®, which is a marketing name for subsidiaries of Ameritas Mutual Holding Company, including,
but not limited to: Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., 5900 O Street, Lincoln, NE 68510; Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. of New York (licensed
in New York) 1350 Broadway, Suite 2201, New York, NY 10018; and Ameritas Investment Corp., member FINRA/SIPC. Each company is
solely responsible for its own financial condition and contractual obligations. For more information about Ameritas®, visit ameritas.com.
Ameritas Retirement Advantage Series refers to a group variable annuity contract issued by Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. of
New York (Form FA 64349). The Guaranteed options are insurance features unique to the annuity. Guarantees are based on the
claims-paying ability of Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. of New York.
Calvert Investments are managed by Calvert Investment Management, Inc., an affiliate of Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. of New York.
Vanguard is a trademark of The Vanguard Group, Inc.
Mesirow Financial Investment Management, Inc. (Mesirow Financial) is an SEC registered investment advisor. The Mesirow Financial
name and logo are registered service marks of Mesirow Financial Holding, Inc. © 2016, Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc. All rights
reserved. Mesirow Financial Investment Management, Inc. is not an affiliate of Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. of New York.
Ameritas® and the bison design are registered service marks of Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. Fulfilling life® is a registered
service mark of affiliate Ameritas Holding Company. Ameritas EZ(k)® is a registered service mark of affiliate Ameritas Mutual
Holding Company.
© 2016 Ameritas Mutual Holding Company
For Financial Professional and Plan Sponsor Use Only.