Social(k) F.A.Q.

What is Social(k)?
Social(k) is a fully bundled, full-service retirement program. It provides both sole practitioners and employees of companies and organizations (hereafter, “companies”) access to more than 100 socially responsible investment (SRI) funds in addition to 600 traditional funds. Most other retirement plans only offer one or two SRI funds.

What services does Social(k) provide?
Social(k) provides web access, daily valuation of funds, statements-on-demand, custody of assets, year-end testing (confirming the plan is in compliance), and a signature-ready Form 5500.

How is the Social(k) platform administered?
Social(k) is powered by ExpertPlan in East Windsor, New Jersey. ExpertPlan manages close to 6,000 retirement plans with almost 2 billion dollars in retirement plan assets. The company provides web-based recordkeeping and administration via the Internet, thus dramatically reducing cost and the use of paper.

As an employer, what functions will I be able to perform online?
You'll be able to quickly set-up and customize your plan, receive up-to-date information at both the plan and participant level, obtain plan reports, process contributions and a variety of other functions. 

As a plan participant, what functions will I be able to perform online?
You can enroll in your employer's plan, access up-to-date account balances, trade assets between plan funds, change investment elections for future contributions, change your contribution rate, obtain statements, review pertinent retirement planning information, rebalance your account, and many other plan-related transactions and functions.

Will all transactions be processed online?
Most transaction capability is online so that paperwork is reduced to a minimum. However, some transactions do require a signature.  For those particular transactions, pre-filled forms would need to be downloaded as PDF files for signature.

Do I need special software to access my retirement plan online?
The site is best viewed in Internet Explorer v. 6.0 or greater, Firefox v. 1.5 or greater or Netscape Navigator v. 7.0 or greater.  To download forms, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

How much does a Social(k) plan cost?
An in-depth overview of the Social(k) pricing structure is available at www.socialk.com under "About Social(k)."

View sample pricing from Social(k) (PDF) »

Does Social(k) have a minimum size plan it would consider?
Social(k) offers retirement plans ranging from single person operations to multi-location, multi-million dollar companies. Custom pricing can lower the cost of a plan when assets per participant approach $40,000.

Does Social(k) require that funds from certain fund families be offered?
Contrary to most retirement plans, Social(k) does not require that any particular fund(s) be included in a retirement plan.  Employers work with their advisor to build a menu of funds that are appropriate for the company or organization.

Does Social(k) offer no-load funds?
All funds are no-load or load-waived and are bought at net asset value.

Does Social(k) have a local person available to advise our employees?
Over 300 investment advisors from across the country are registered with Social(k). They will provide the assistance you need and also ongoing support and employee education.

Why must advisors register with Social(k)?
Advisors who register with Social(k) at www.socialk.com get access to all the information and tools needed to offer a superior web-based retirement plan option to your clients. Using the information garnered from the registration process, we can also then contact you to provide updated information and notices of trainings etc. In addition, when we receive inquiries from clients looking for advisors versed in socially responsible investing and Social(k), we and will refer these leads to registered local advisors.  

How can my current financial advisor offer Social(k)?
If your company already has an advisor but you’re not happy with the limited SRI selections offered by your existing plan, have your advisor contact us about replacing your plan with Social(k) or adding Social(k) as a second option alongside your existing plan.

If I have other questions, who do I contact?
If you are a plan participant and have a particular question relating to your specific plan, contact your employer's plan administrator or click on “Contact Us” at www.socialk.com to email your question. Or feel free to call us at 866-929-2525.

What are Socially Responsible Investment funds?
SRI funds use both positive and negative “screens” within the context of rigorous financial analysis. Positive means the companies in the fund may support alternative energy, or have a strong record on human rights and labor issues, among others, while negative screens may exclude companies involved with alcohol, cigarettes, guns, or nuclear power as well as those with egregious human or labor rights or environmental problems.

Are returns for SRI  funds competitive to traditional non-SRI funds?
Socially screened portfolio performance generally matches and sometimes exceeds the returns of conventional portfolios. For up-to-date measures of SRI performance, please see www.kld.com/indexes/ds400index/performance.html. Your financial advisor will screen Social(k)’s selection of funds to provide a list of funds with competitive returns.

What are some of the SRI fund families that make up Social(k)?
SRI fund families represented include: Abacus Bull Moose Growth Fund, Calvert Funds, Citizens Funds, CRAFund Advisors, Domini Social Investments, MMA Praxis Mutual Funds, Parnassus Investments, Pax World Funds, Portfolio 21, Sierra Club Mutual Funds, Winslow Green Growth and Women's Equity Mutual Fund, among others.