Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation

Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation plans offer an additional means of providing retirement benefits beyond those provided by the company’s qualified benefit plans. There are several advantages to this type of plan for individual executives and the sponsoring organization.

Advantages for the sponsoring organization:

• The structure of this type of plan is selective, allowing sponsor discretion in determining which key executives it rewards.
• Through the use of specialized products, The Baird Group designs plans to enhance the balance sheet by creating a separate asset to match the liability created by the benefit.
• The Baird Group can help minimize income taxation to the sponsoring organization’s investment income and minimize the effect of deferred compensation expense.
• These plans can be designed to achieve profit and loss neutrality.
• Depending on plan funding, key person insurance is provided at no additional cost or contribution.

Advantages for the individual executives:

• Participants are not taxed on the benefit until it is distributed.
• Participants can elect to defer up to 100% of salary or bonus on a pre-tax basis.
• Contributions may be deferred for any length of time up to and including retirement.
• Each annual deferral may be designated for a separate target payout date.
• Participants may diversity their account balances from a range of investment accounts.

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Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans

A supplemental employee retirement plan (SERP) is an arrangement whereby the employer agrees to pay an additional amount to an employee's beneficiary upon the employee's death, or to the employee at retirement. The actual benefit provided is agreed upon by the employer and the executive. A SERP offers many of the same advantages as the Deferred Compensation Plan.

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Estate Planning

The Estate Planning process is different for every individual.

The Baird Group's Estate Planning services are unique because:

• Weldon Baird, Managing Partner, has over 25 years of experience assisting executives and organizations in the executive benefit and estate planning marketplace.
• The Baird Group coordinates with the individual's existing financial advisors to determine the most appropriate and effective retirement planning strategy.
• In addition to relationships with all of the major insurance carriers, The Baird Group has a proprietary relationship with The Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. Northwestern Mutual's financial ratings lead the industry, as they have always earned the highest financial ratings from all four of the major rating services.