Category: Special Announcements

Effective:  May 21, 2019 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT – CHANGE TO MANAGER LINE-UP UPAL ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT FUND AND UPAL CORE BOND FUND Upon reviewing the underlying mix of managers within the UPAL Retirement Program, we have decided, upon the advice of the Strategic Investment Advisory Group, the independent investment advisors to the Program, to remove iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF from the UPAL Core Bond Fund and replace it with the Federated Institutional High Yield Bond Fund effective May 21, 2019.  Research shows that high yield fixed income is one of the most challenging areas of the market to

Annually, UPAL requires an Audit of its Common Collective Pooled Trust Funds which hold retirement plan core assets.  If you are a participant in a participating Plan, an investor in the Pooled Funds or a Plan Sponsor and would like a copy of the Audit of the Pooled Funds, please send an email requesting a copy of the Audit to Kent Butcher, President/CEO, at kbutcher@upal.com or Lea Ann Nunley, Vice President of Retirement Plan Services, at lnunley@upal.com.  Upon receipt of your written request, a copy of the Audit will be sent to you at no charge. We are also pleased to answer any

The IRS recently issued guidance regarding the changes made to 401(k) and 403(b) plan hardship withdrawal requirements under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. This change only impacts Plans that allow hardship distributions. Please see the summary below regarding how this proposal may affect your retirement plan. GUIDANCE SUMMARY – Elimination of Six-Month Suspension. All 401(k) and 403(b) plans must eliminate the six-month suspension beginning with hardship distributions made during plan years beginning on and after January 1, 2020. Plan sponsors can choose to eliminate the six-month suspension as early as

Annually, UPAL requires an Audit of its Common Collective Pooled Trust Funds which hold retirement plan core assets.  If you are a participant in a participating Plan, an investor in the Pooled Funds or a Plan Sponsor and would like a copy of the Audit of the Pooled Funds, please send an email requesting a copy of the Audit to Kent Butcher, President/CEO, at kbutcher@upal.com or Lea Ann Nunley, Vice President of Retirement Plan Services, at lnunley@upal.com.  Upon receipt of your written request, a copy of the Audit will be sent to you at no charge. We are also pleased

The IRS recently released employee benefit plan limits for 2018. There are several changes for 2018. PLAN LIMITATIONS 2016 2017 2018 Annual Compensation Limit $265,000 $270,000 $275,000 Defined Contribution Maximum Annual Contribution $53,000 $54,000 $55,000 Annual §401(k) Employee Deferral Limit $18,000 $18,000 $18,500 Age 50 Catch-up Contributions to §401(k) Plan $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 Highly Compensated Employee Threshold $120,000 $120,000 $120,000 Income subject to Social Security Wage Base $118,500 $127,200 $128,700 Please share this information with your payroll personnel so they are aware of these limits. This information is always available on our website under the Toolkit tab at Benefit Plan Limits.

  Effective September 1, 2017 Changes made to your UPAL core retirement plan investments can no longer be processed via fax.  Investment changes can be requested through Bank of Oklahoma by calling The Participant Service Group at 1-800-876-9557 Monday – Friday from 8:00am to 7:00pm CDT. Changes to your account can also be made online at www.startright.bokf.com.  If you do not remember your password, you can call The Participant Service Group and they can reset it for you.   The UPAL Core Fund/Model Investment Direction Worksheet which contains a list of core investment options is linked below and permanently located on our website at:

Effective 8/29/17 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT – CHANGE TO MANAGER LINE-UP UPAL CORE BOND FUND Upon reviewing the underlying mix of managers within the UPAL Retirement Program, we have decided, upon the advice of the Strategic Investment Advisory Group, the independent investment advisors to the Program, to remove the DFA Intermediate Term Extended Quality, I Fund from the UPAL Core Bond Fund effective 8/29/17. The DFA Intermediate Term Extended Quality, I Fund will be replaced by the Vanguard Intermediate Term Corporate Bond ETF, which has a lower expense ratio than the DFA fund expense ratio and better tracking error with its index.

A description of UPAL’s business model and any material conflicts of interest associated with the business model; UPAL is a Registered Investment Adviser and the firm employs Registered Investment Adviser Representatives for the purpose of providing retirement program services. Our retirement programs include ERISA qualified, defined contribution, 401(k) profit sharing plans and Individual Retirement Accounts. UPAL and its Adviser Representatives are Fiduciaries according to the Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule, ERISA, and Internal Revenue Code (IRC 4975(e) (3)]. UPAL is a Level Fee Fiduciary in that level fee compensation is provided on the basis of a fixed percentage of the