KS Bank Helps Make Retirement Plans Happen

In the Triangle East region of North Carolina, businesses seeking tailored retirement benefits planning need look no further than KS Bank in Smithfield, North Carolina. The $722 million-asset community bank debuted this offering in 2021. 

KS Bank offers retirement benefits planning through its wealth department, $300 million-asset KS Trust Wealth & Investment Management. Shannon Austin, senior wealth consultant and VP at KS Trust, and Noah Holt, wealth consultant and AVP, currently assist with more than 20 benefits plans for clients, including medical practices, homebuilders and nonprofits.

While KS Bank generates noninterest fee income from the services it provides, its team says the primary goal of operating in this space is to provide comprehensive financial solutions for its customers. Investment advisory services for workplace plans have become an integral part of that mission, helping the community bank strengthen its role as a trusted financial partner.

“We really want to offer a holistic, comprehensive one-stop shop,” says Austin. “We don’t want them to have to go here and there for different services.”

The benefits of retirement plans for businesses

Retirement benefits can be a game changer for businesses looking to attract and retain employees, especially at a time when many workers face challenges saving for the future and businesses deal with the challenge of retaining talented employees. 

According to the 2024 SHRM Employee Benefits Survey, 81% of businesses report retirement savings and planning benefits are either “extremely important” or “very important” to their workforces—a need KS Bank is helping to address.

Around 30% of the business clients that seek the KS Trust team’s help in designing, implementing and monitoring their employee benefit plans have never offered retirement benefits before. After meeting with a company’s leaders and hearing about their goals, a wealth consultant from the bank will suggest appropriate options for their business structures. 

Popular retirement benefits include 401(k)s, 403(b)s, SIMPLE 401(k)s, Solo 401(k)s and SEP IRAs. For some clients, says Austin, she may recommend “underutilized” structures like profit-sharing or cash balance plans. These structures offer business owners tax advantages and retirement planning benefits, she says.

Simplifying businesses’ retirement plans

The remaining 70% of KS Trust’s business clients already have retirement benefit plans in place but are looking to make improvements. 

In those instances, one of the community bank’s wealth consultants will meet with the client’s decision-makers to understand what they like and dislike about their current offerings. Then the consultant will create a proposal for a new plan and show how it compares with the existing one.

It’s often at this stage when some executives first realize how much their existing plan has been costing them, Austin says, since retirement plan providers’ fees aren’t always transparent. 

“Typically, we’re able to save them a lot of money,” she says, noting that the community bank can bundle its services and has the flexibility to work with multiple recordkeepers rather than being bound to one. 

Strengthening relationships with comprehensive services

Most business owners who tap the bank for assistance with their retirement benefits also do their personal banking with KS Bank.  

“If we’re doing the financial planning, and we’re telling [business owners], ‘You really need to get a 401(k),’ then we’re going to help them do it,” says Austin.

Offering services that businesses might otherwise seek elsewhere strengthens client loyalty and deepens their relationships with KS Bank, according to Austin. This approach also allows the community bank to assist with business succession planning, gaining valuable insights when business owners prepare to retire or sell their companies. 

Referrals from satisfied clients—whether on the wealth management side or from existing business customers—has also served as a key driver of growth for KS Trust Wealth & Investment Management.

Offering hands-on support

KS Bank is a place where employees build long-term relationships with customers and often greet them like family, Austin says. This personalized approach to relationship banking is a key reason businesses choose KS Bank and its wealth arm, she adds.

“We are very hands-on with our clients and will act as the liaison between them and the recordkeeper and will act as their point of contact for any matter that comes up,” Austin says.

Take switching to a new 401(k), for example. “It’s actually a very big process to transfer a 401(k) over,” Austin says. To facilitate a smooth transfer, the bank and recordkeeper must gather employee information and understand how each plan participant is invested to accurately map data over comparative investments.

KS Bank’s wealth consultants help plan sponsors—their business clients—choose those investments and monitor their performance over time. “We have the ability to serve in different capacities, for example [as] 3(21) and 3(38) [advisors], which can allow the client to delegate certain fiduciary responsibilities to us,” Austin says.

Some businesses may also need help establishing new processes, such as uploading payroll with correct delineations for pre-tax and Roth contributions. By guiding businesses through these complexities, KS Bank aims to ensure clients feel supported every step of the way.

Going the extra mile for clients

Austin says at KS Bank, personalized support goes beyond the basics. Bank members provide direct assistance to plan participants, ensuring every question is answered. Whether it’s inquiries about loans, withdrawals or post-employment options, participants can call KS Bank team members directly for guidance. 

Austin also attends quarterly enrollment meetings and new-employee orientations to address questions in person. At one company, she even meets with new hires twice a month. 

“A lot of times, especially if [a business is] working with a larger company for their 401(k), they don’t have someone that comes to their location,” Austin says, “and certainly not every other week.”