SERP 101

The success of your organization relies not only on the value of the tangible assets reflected on your balance sheet, but equally on the expertise and stability of the talent managing those assets. That is why it is so important to attract and retain the highest performing senior executives to lead your organization. That is where a SERP comes in.

What is a SERP?

A Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERP) is a non-qualified, deferred compensation benefit, routinely used to attract and retain high performing executives. In the not-for-profit sector, a SERP is generally in the form of a 457(f) plan.

Sometimes referred to as Golden Handcuffs, a SERP is an agreement between a credit union and an executive to provide retirement or retention income in return for a specified number of years of service or until retirement.

SERPs are employee specific and non-qualified, falling outside of ERISA rules, giving credit unions the opportunity to selectively reward key executives without restrictions on contribution amounts or benefit design. Typically, they do not require regulatory oversight or compliance testing.