Challenges We Solve
Complex NQDC plans require more than basic recordkeeping. From advanced plan provisions and payroll integration to participant communications and distribution administration, we help plan sponsors simplify the process and reduce administrative risk.
Complex Plan Administration
Advanced provisions, multiple compensation types, eligibility, vesting, elections, and distributions add up fast, and much of it lands on HR. KBA carries that operational load with experienced administration so your team stays focused on strategic work.
When Payroll and HR Don't Sync
Manual data handoffs create errors and eat your team's time. KBA builds reliable, automated flows so accurate information moves between payroll, HR, recordkeeping, and investment systems.
When Executives Can't See the Value
If executives can't easily understand their benefits or feel unsure at election and distribution time, the plan's perceived value erodes. KBA gives participants clear, timely information so they can make informed decisions with confidence.
Beyond Set It and Forget It
Plans that go unreviewed drift out of alignment, and reactive compliance leaves 409A and regulatory risk to build quietly. KBA continuously evaluates plan performance, investments, processes, and risk to keep everything aligned with your objectives.
Expertise Across a Variety of Benefit Plans
Voluntary Deferred Compensation / 401(k) Excess Plans
Enable executives and corporate directors to make pre-tax contributions and receive company matches in excess of federal 401(k) plan limits.
Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans (SERPs)
Reward key employees and their families with company-paid deferred compensation benefits and improve retention with service-based vesting schedules.
Pension Restoration Plans
Restore pension benefits lost due to qualified plan limitations.
Executive Life Insurance Plans
Deliver an institutionally priced insurance product to help executives flexibly meet their estate planning objectives.
VEBA Trusts
Develop and manage tax-efficient funding strategies to meet future medical benefit expenses.
HR & Total Rewards
Plan design, participant experience, and retention strategy
A Partner You Can Rely On
Your NQDC plan is one of your strongest tools to recruit and retain key executives, but only if it's run well. KBA works alongside your HR and Total Rewards team to make your plan easier to manage, easier for executives to understand, and more effective over time.
Every KBA client has a dedicated service team of experienced administrators who know your plan, your participants, and your organization. Not a call center. Not a ticket queue. A team that picks up the phone.
Why HR and Total Rewards Teams Choose KBA
- Less administrative burden
- Responsive, senior-level service
- A better executive experience
- Proactive advice, not just processing
Participation Depends on Execution
KBA supports every participant touchpoint so eligible executives understand the plan and act on it.
Guided Enrollment
A self-service enrollment portal with short, focused videos, online webinars, and targeted email campaigns during the enrollment window.
One-on-One Counseling
Direct access to KBA administrators for participant questions, not a call center.
Year-Round Engagement
Quarterly outreach that keeps participants informed between enrollment periods.
What Better Administration Delivers
The quality of your administrator directly affects how executives experience and value their benefits.
Finance & Treasury
Funding strategy, COLI expertise, and balance sheet optimization
Make Your NQDC Plan Work Smarter for You
An NQDC plan creates a long-term obligation for your company. How that obligation is funded has a meaningful impact on cash flow, taxes, investment performance, and your balance sheet.
KBA helps Finance and Treasury teams see the full picture, with recommendations driven by your tax position and cash flow, not by any single product. We work across all major trust companies and life insurance carriers.
KBA's core value adds include:
Understanding Your True Plan Cost
Mutual fund-based funding structures typically create over 100 basis points of annual drag. That compounds quietly into a material, and often overlooked, balance sheet inefficiency.
Seeing the Long-Term Impact
What looks incremental in a single year can add up to significant cumulative cost over a plan's lifecycle. We model it clearly so finance leaders can bring it to senior management with confidence.
Finding Opportunities to Improve
We design tax-efficient funding approaches that reduce ongoing cost and better align assets with long-term obligations, with improvements often beginning in year one.
Balancing Funding, Investments, and Risk
We maintain existing structures where appropriate and provide access to institutional-quality strategies within insurance platforms, aligned with your broader capital objectives.
COLI Expertise That Goes Beyond Administration
Corporate-owned life insurance can be a powerful funding tool for an NQDC plan, but its value depends on how effectively the portfolio is managed over time. KBA has deep expertise in COLI and the authority to actively manage portfolios across carriers and policy types.
Request a Complimentary Diagnostic Review
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Policy Tracking and Valuation Reporting
Comprehensive tracking across carriers and policy types, with clear reporting for finance and audit teams.
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Continuous Portfolio Management
We actively manage COLI portfolios to evaluate investment performance, costs, risk, and tax efficiency.
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Aligning Assets with NQDC Liabilities
We manage COLI assets with your NQDC liabilities in mind to help create a coordinated funding strategy.
Same-Day Asset Alignment with Auto-Hedge
Timing matters. When there is participant activity (transfers, deferrals, distributions), our proprietary Auto-Hedge process aligns COLI assets the same day, so the funding asset tracks the liability without lag and P&L volatility stays lower.
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Regulatory Compliance
Full compliance support including annual notices, carrier coordination, and audit documentation.
Many portfolios were structured years ago and have never been reviewed. A KBA diagnostic review often uncovers meaningful improvement opportunities.
Did Your Company Acquire COLI Through a Merger or Acquisition?
Inherited COLI portfolios are among the most common and most overlooked sources of financial inefficiency. Policies acquired through M&A activity are often misaligned with the new company's obligations, tax position, and long-term strategy, and few internal teams have the expertise to evaluate them independently.
KBA specializes in evaluating inherited COLI and developing a clear, actionable path forward, whether that means restructuring, optimizing, or transitioning those assets into a more efficient configuration.
Request a Complimentary COLI ReviewStart With a Complimentary Diagnostic Review
Most executive benefits programs were set up thoughtfully, but have not been looked at closely since. Small inefficiencies compound quietly over time. Our diagnostic review gives you an independent, plain-language picture of where your program stands today.
- A brief introductory conversation with no extensive prep needed on your end
- Review of your current plan design, funding approach, and administration setup
- Written summary with specific, prioritized next steps
- Quantified savings or improvement opportunities where identifiable
- No cost. No obligation. No sales pitch.
Request Your Diagnostic Review
We will be in touch within one business day.
Request Received
Thank you. A member of our new business team will be in touch within one business day to schedule your review.