Title 12. Maryland Small Business Retirement Savings Program and Trust — Subtitle 2. Establishment; Powers and Duties of Board

There is a Maryland Small Business Retirement Savings Board.

The Board is a body politic and corporate and is an instrumentality of the State.

the State Treasurer, or the State Treasurer’s designee;

the Secretary of Labor, or the Secretary’s designee;

the Comptroller, or the Comptroller’s designee; and

nine members with expertise in retirement programs and benefits, investments, financial systems and controls, or small business, appointed as follows:

The term of a member is 4 years.

The terms of members are staggered as required by the terms provided for members of the Board on July 1, 2016.

At the end of a term a member continues to serve until a successor is appointed and qualifies.

A member who is appointed after a term has begun serves only for the rest of the term and until a successor is appointed and qualifies.

The Board may employ a staff and may hire consultants, administrators, and other professionals as necessary to help implement, maintain, and administer the Program and the Trust.

All expenses, including employee costs, incurred to implement, maintain, and administer the Program and the Trust shall be paid from money collected by or for the Program or the Trust.

Consistent with its fiduciary duties, the Board may enter into an agreement to borrow funds from the State or any other entity to provide funding for the operation of the Program until the Program can generate sufficient funding for operations through fees assessed on Program accounts.

for the exclusive purposes of providing benefits to Program participants and defraying reasonable expenses of administering the Program; and

by selecting investment options or programs that will invest with the care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with those matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims.

The Board shall prepare, adopt, and annually review a written statement of investment policy that includes a risk management and oversight program.

The investment policy shall consider investment options or programs that will seek to mitigate risk by maintaining a balanced investment portfolio that provides assurance that no single investment or class of investments will have a disproportionate impact on the total portfolio.

The risk management and oversight program shall be designed to ensure that an effective risk management system is in place to monitor the risk levels of the Program investment portfolio and ensure that the risks taken are prudent and properly managed.

shall cause the Program or payroll deposit IRA arrangements established under the Program to be designed, established, and operated;

shall appoint a Program administrator and determine the duties of the Program administrator;

shall employ staff as necessary and set the compensation of the staff;

shall make provisions for the payment of costs of administration and operation of the Trust;

shall evaluate and establish the process for an employee to contribute automatically to the Program;

shall evaluate and establish the process for a participating employer to provide a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement for covered employees and to forward the employee contribution and related information to the Program or its agents, which may include financial services companies and third–party administrators with the capability to receive and process employee information and contributions for payroll deposit retirement savings arrangements or other arrangements authorized by this title;

shall design and establish the process for the enrollment of Program participants;

shall evaluate and establish a range of investment options, including a default investment selection for employees’ payroll deposit IRAs;

may procure insurance against any loss in connection with the property, assets, or activities of the Trust, and secure private underwriting and reinsurance to manage risk;

shall procure insurance indemnifying each member of the Board from personal loss or liability resulting from a member’s action or inaction as a member of the Board;

shall set minimum and maximum employee contribution levels in accordance with contribution limits set for IRAs by the Internal Revenue Code;

may arrange for collective, common, and pooled investment of assets of the Program or arrangements, including investments in conjunction with other funds with which those assets are authorized to be collectively invested, with a view to saving costs through efficiencies and economies of scale;

shall determine the allocation of administrative fees to individual retirement accounts;

shall explore and establish investment options that offer employees returns on contributions and the conversion of individual retirement savings account balances to secure retirement income without incurring debt or liabilities to the State;

shall determine the eligibility of an employer, employee, or any other individual to participate in the Program; and

may evaluate and establish the process by which a noncovered employer, an employee of a nonparticipating employer, or a self–employed individual may enroll in and make contributions to the Program.

Before opening the Program for enrollment, the Board shall design and disseminate to employers and employees information regarding the Program.

The information provided shall include background information on the Program and appropriate disclosures for employees, including:

employees seeking financial advice should contact financial advisors because employers are not in a position to provide financial advice;

in accordance with § 12–501 of this title, employers are not liable for decisions made by employees;

the Program is not an employer–offered savings arrangement; and

in accordance with § 12–502 of this title, the Program fund may be privately insured and is not guaranteed by the State.

a covered employee to opt out of participation in the Program;

a participating employee to opt out of participation in the Program after the participating employee has commenced participation; and

an employee who has opted out of participation to participate or resume participation in the Program.