Call me at 480.259.8280 Based in Phoenix, Ariz., serving Arizona and Colorado Tracy Peterson Together, let ’s make it happen. Commercial & ag participation loans Bank stock & ownership loans Bank building financing Business & personal loans for bankers We do not reparticipate any loans. Leverage our large lending capacity, up to $20 million on correspondent loans. Our lending limits are high enough to accommodate what you need, when you need it. Why choose Bell as your bank’s lending partner? Member FDIC 32150 discussion about how the financial organization could somehow put the client in an acceptable tax position. Important Takeaways Why even discuss a rollover scenario for such limited and unsatisfactory responses? At least three reasons come to mind: 1. Know the rules. This may seem obvious. But from our experience, many workers struggle with the complex rules that govern our retirement plan industry. The rules aren’t necessarily intuitive. In fact, sometimes they seem – as in this case – to defy common sense. If you don’t know the rules that a client wonders about, don’t fake it. Admit that you would “like to look into that” for your client, and then follow up with the correct information. Most clients will respect an authentic “may I get back to you on that” along with a prompt and accurate response. 2. Don’t give “advice.” There may be a fine line at times between reciting the rules and giving advice. And you may find yourself reciting this phrase repeatedly to your clients over the years: “I can’t give tax, legal, or accounting advice, but here’s the rule as I understand it.” You may also want to verify with your compliance or legal area precisely what they would prefer you to say. So while you certainly want to help your clients, knowing the limits of your understanding – and your proper role with your clients – will help keep you and your financial organization from the predicament in our case study. 3. Learn how to protect your organization while helping your clients. You may make mistakes. And you may have to deal with clients with valid complaints based on some interaction with you or a colleague. So it makes sense to have a response plan in place before you actually need it. For example, conferring with your legal/compliance team about when and how to refer problems to them may facilitate a broader discussion about various roles in your organization. You may, for example, come up with tools, such as checklists and decision trees that will help front-line workers refer challenging situations to the right colleagues. The real-life case study above may sound familiar to you. The rollover rules changed without prior warning, catching some financial organizations off guard. But even for those who consistently stay abreast of new developments, it’s easy to miss something. So whether it’s the one-per-12month rollover rule – or some other provision – you or someone you serve will likely get tripped up at some point. Knowing how to respond may lessen the impact and may even help you keep a client. January • February 2022 19
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