VALIC to Run PGA Supplemental Retirement Plan

The PGA of America Golf Retirement Plus plan has an unusual structure. The golf pros themselves can contribute to the plan, but participants can also build up account value by making purchases from Golf Retirement Plus sponsors, such as golf product makers, OfficeMax and Pepsi-Cola. The sponsors have agreed to put part of the revenue they get from the golf pros into the pros’ Retirement Plan Plus accounts.

Plan managers say, in a comment that was on the PGAInsurance.com website in August, that the average participant earned an average of $2,185 in sponsor payments in 2013.

Mercer LLC, a unit of Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., has been administering the supplemental retirement plan, and using Security Benefit Life Insurance Company to store the plan assets.

Information about the current role of Security Benefit Life was not immediately available.

The PGAInsurance.com website still lists Mercer as the PGA of America insurance benefits administrator.

The program uses Long-Term Care Resources as its supplier of long-term care planning services, Hartford Life as its disability insurance provider, and New York Life as its basic group term life provider,

The program uses Hartford Life to provide a small amount of “in-dues life insurance” for full professionals in the Professional Golfers’ Association of America. Those golf pros get some Hartford Life Insurance automatically. The death benefit is $14,000 for insureds under 35, $7,500 for insureds ages 34 to 49, and $5,000 for insureds ages 50 and older.

— Read Insurance: The ‘Putter’ in the Retirement Golf Bag, on ThinkAdvisor.

— Connect with ThinkAdvisor Life/Health on LinkedIn and Twitter.