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Takeover Fees

A one-time fee charged by the Third Party Administrator to establish and transfer Plan and participant records.

Tandem Plan

A qualified retirement plan combination made up of a fixed contribution plan (such as a money purchase plan) and a flexible contribution plan (such as a profit sharing plan).

Target Benefit

A target benefit plan is a defined contribution plan that acts much more like a defined benefit plan. Contributions are set for each year, but are variable based on the age of the employee. This allows older employees to receive similarly sized pensions as younger employees despite having less time for investments to grow.

Tax Deductible

Expenses that may be deducted from current taxable income.

Tax Deferred

Earnings or income that are not subject to federal income taxes until a later date. With reference to tax-deferred earnings produced within an IRA, these earnings are taxed only upon distribution to the account owner.

Tax Free Rollover

Provision whereby an individual receiving a lump sum distribution from a qualified pension or profit sharing plan can preserve the tax deferred status of these funds by a "rollover" into an IRA or another qualified plan if rolled over within sixty days of receipt.

Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA '86)

The most comprehensive change to the Internal Revenue Code since 1954. TRA '86 requires that all qualified retirement plans be updated to meet the new code by the first date of the second plan year beginning on or after Oct. 13, 1992.

Technical Analysis

An analysis of price and volume data as well as other related market indicators to determine past trends that are believed to be predictable into the future. Charts and graphs are often utilized.

Third Party Administrator (TPA)

An independent company that provides Retirement Plan consulting and administration such as the record keeping of participant accounts, compliance and discrimination testing, and government filings.

Three-to-Seven-Year Graded Vesting

An approved schedule in which vesting must occur at a rate of at least 20% per year, beginning at the completion of three years of service. The participant is fully vested at the completion of seven years service.

Top-Hat Plan

A type of executive retirement plan that is unfunded and provides benefits to a select group of highly compensated individuals. It is also called a supplemental executive retirement plan (SERP).

Top-Heavy Plan

A qualified retirement plan in which more than 60% of plan benefits are attributed to key employees.

Total Debt to Total Assets

Short-term and long-term debt divided by total assets of the firm. A measure of a company's financial risk that indicates how much of the assets of the firm have been financed by debt.

Total Return

The total that you're earning on an investment. Total return is the dividends and interest you get, plus any change in the value of your principal, or original investment. If your mutual fund share price increased from $23 to $25, and you also received a 20 cent per share dividend, your total return was $2.20 - a little over 9%.

Trading Range

The spread of prices that a stock normally sells within.

Transaction Costs

Costs incurred buying or selling securities. These include brokers' commissions and dealers' spreads (the difference between the price the dealer paid for a security and for which he can sell it).

Treasuries

The IOUs of the U.S. Government. The federal government borrows money by selling Treasury Bills, which range in maturity from 90 days to a year; Treasury Notes, whose maturity ranges from one to ten years; and Treasury Bonds, whose maturity ranges from ten years to thirty years. Treasuries are considered to have no risk of default. But like all bonds, they are vulnerable to interest rate risk.

Trust

A fiduciary relationship in which one person (the trustee) is the holder of the legal title to property (the trust property) subject to an equitable obligation (an obligation enforceable in court of equity) to keep or use the property for the benefit of another person (the beneficiary).

Trustee

The party named in a trust document who has responsibility to hold assets for the participants. Some plan documents also give investment responsibility to the trustee.

Turnkey

A plan which includes an IRS-approved plan document, a menu of investment options, employee communications, recordkeeping and trustee services within a self-contained package.

Turnover Ratio

The percentage of a mutual fund's holdings that was replaced during a one-year period. A fund's turnover ratio tells you how aggressively the portfolio manager buys and sells investments. You can find this information in the prospectus.

Type of Program: Alliance

Asset management and administration of the plan is handled by a Third Party Administrator (TPA) with an exclusive arrangement.

Type of Program: Bundled

A named provider performs most functions of the plan, but out-sources some functions i.e. record keeping.

Type of Program: Un-Bundled

Administration of the plan is handled by an unrelated outside Third Party Administrator (TPA).

Type of Program: Integrated

A named provider performs all functions of the plan, i.e. record keeping, trust services, custody and investment management.