Charles Schwab

CARES Act Insights

In the month of April Plan Sponsors continued to review the CARES Act provisions and participants reached out to Schwab Retirement Plan Services with specific requests related to ongoing market volatility.

Plan Sponsor Adoption and Opt-outs


  • CARES Act Adoption – there is still a significant population of Plan Sponsors continuing to have internal discussion about implanting any of the provisions; over half of the sponsors that initially opted-out of all provisions are reviewing internally
  • CARES Act Opt-Outs – the provision Plan Sponsors have been opting-out of most frequently is the new loan provision (up to $100k or full balance), followed by allowing Corona-Related Distributions (CRDs). Both provisions are the most opted-out of by a large margin compared to the other provisions of loan payment suspensions and RMD suspensions

Participant-Requested Distributions, Loans and Deferral Changes


  • Coronavirus-Related Distributions (CRD’s) - we received over 5,000 unique requests for Coronavirus-Related Distributions (CRD’s), averaging $30,500. For plans that have had at least one participant request a CRD request, the average number of participants per plan requesting a CRD is 11, which is skewed toward larger, high volume plans as the median number of participants per plan requesting a CRD is 4
  • CARES Act Loan Requests - we received loan requests from 523 participants, averaging $37,300
  • Loan Suspension Requests - we received suspension requests from 2,720 participants, approximately 1.6% of participants with a loan, with requests volume peaking from 4/15-4/17
  • Deferral Changes - 3.6% of participants made a deferral rate change; 2.4% increased their deferral rate, 0.8% reduced, and 0.4% dropped their deferral rate to 0%. For comparison, in March, 3.6% increased, 1.1% reduced, and 0.4% dropped their deferral rate to 0%

How We Continue to Help


  • Plan Sponsor Monthly Dashboard – we are providing this to Plan Sponsors to keep them apprised of current and ongoing activity
  • Plan Sponsor and Consultant Education – an interactive webcast in early June discussing components of The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Acts key provisions, as well as additional information around the CARES Act, Authorized Person packets, your BBA packet follow-up, DocuSign and more. Watch for an invitation to register.
  • Participant Education – a live panel discussion on May 20th with Retirement Plan Services Specialists focused on how to manage emotions and retirement during times of market volatility, along with other on demand and live webcasts available at https://www.schwab.com/yourmoney

Industry Trends and Updates

SDBA Indicators Report
The Self-Directed Brokerage Account Indicators Report™ tracks the investment behaviors of employees who used the Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account®* (PCRA) during this time period.

Regulatory and Legislative

DOL Provides Relief for Certain Retirement Plan Requirements1
Relief is provided for verification requirements for loans and distributions and timing for forwarding contributions and loan repayments, among other things.

From our podcast series WashingtonWISE Investor
Investors’ finances, as well as the markets, are affected daily by the policies and politics coming out of Washington. In each episode of WashingtonWISE Investor, Mike Townsend, Charles Schwab’s vice president for Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, focuses a nonpartisan eye on the stories that matter most to investors, and his guests offer actionable suggestions for what to do—and what not to do—with your portfolio.


Corporate News

Schwab to set the bar high with virtual IMPACT conference1
With the global pandemic pushing most communication and personal interactions into virtual mode, Charles Schwab Corp. is expected to set the bar high with its annual IMPACT conference.

Events and Education

SBEN Annual Education Conference1
Rescheduled: August 13-14, 2020
Le Meridien
Atlanta, GA

NAPA 401(k) Summit1
Rescheduled: September 10-12, 2020
Loews Royal Pacific Resort
Orlando, FL

SouthWest Benefits Association 45th Annual Conference1
Rescheduled: August 23-25, 2020
Irving Convention Center
Irving, TX

PLANSPONSOR National Conference1
September 24-26
JW Marriott
Orlando, FL

1. You will be accessing a third-party website. Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc. (SRPS) has not reviewed the sites referenced herein and is not responsible for the content of any off-site pages or any other linked sites. No judgment or warranty is made with respect to the accuracy, timeliness, completeness or suitability of the content of the services or sites to which these screens link, and SRPS takes no responsibility therefore. A link to a service or site outside of SRPS is not an endorsement of the service or site, its content, or its sponsoring organization. SRPS provides links to other Internet sites solely as a convenience to its users. Your linking to these sites is at your own risk.

Third party entities named herein are not affiliated with Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc. (SRPS). The views they expressed in these third party materials may not necessarily reflect those of SRPS and its affiliates.

The Charles Schwab Corporation provides services to retirement and other benefit plans and participants through its separate but affiliated companies and subsidiaries: Charles Schwab Bank; Charles Schwab Trust Bank; Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Member SIPC); and Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc. Trust, custody, and deposit products and services are available through Charles Schwab Bank and Charles Schwab Trust Bank, Members of FDIC Brokerage products and services are offered by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.

Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc. created this communication for retirement plan sponsors and retirement plan consultants, advisors, and other retirement plan service providers and fiduciaries only. Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc. is not a fiduciary to retirement plans or participants and only provides recordkeeping and related services.

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