Changes to Sterling Benefit Plan and Trust
In response to recent IRS activity, Benefits for Corporate America, Inc. has recently made several changes to the Sterling Benefit Plan and Trust (the "Plan"), effective immediately:
1. The name of the Plan and Trust has been changed to “Zermatt Life/Health Insurance Trust”.
2. Christiana Bank & Trust Company of Wilmington, Delaware (www.christianabank.com, a subsidiary of National Penn), has been designated as the successor trustee of the trust.
3. The domicile of the trust has been changed to Delaware.
While these changes of themselves are not momentous, they open up the possibility of additional plan enhancements in the near future. Those enhancements will provide new planning opportunities for adopting employers and Plan participants. We will notify you of and explain those improvements as we receive approvals from appropriate governmental authorities. We expect those approvals to be effective prior to December 31, 2009. Once we have obtained the replacement plan documents from the attorneys, we will forward copies of those in a 3-ring binder with other updated materials. There are 2 other changes to announce:
1. The trust will not permit new variable insurance contracts or annuities as assets. We have already begun to elect fixed investments in those variable contracts currently held by the trust.
2. The trust will focus on purchasing group-term life insurance policies and investing the post-retirement funds outside the policies. We will offer the opportunity for those who have cash value life insurance contracts to elect to continue those contracts or to move to one of the new policies.
In the meantime, you may see materials relative to transferring the insurance policies under the plan to the new trustee and re-titling the trust. These are not cause for alarm. However, if you have questions, please feel free to contact us.