THE ESOP ADVANTAGE
THE ESOP ADVANTAGE
Best of all, there is no cost to you, whatsoever.
Technically, an ESOP is a retirement plan, similar to a 401(k).
However, unlike a 401(k):
What our employees think about their ESOP
The ESOP is something that will benefit you down the road a whole lot more than you think it will now. One of the main things the ESOP has allowed me to do is buy (my) house on the golf course, be a member of the country club, have my own golf cart, play golf four to five times a week, and really just enjoy what I enjoy doing.
Bill Craven
Retired, 27 Years with RGA
The longer that you are employed with RGA the more of your retirement you will see. The beneficial part to that is you don’t have to put anything into it. The best thing about being an employee with RGA is I’m not just an employee. I’m an employee-owner. When I walk into the company every day, I know I own a part of this company. This is a piece of me.
Elleatrice Clark
Current RGA Employee
Because of the ESOP I became a business owner, a dream that I’d had. I now have a treehouse business…and I could not have done it without the ESOP. My wife and my son are there working with me. It has created a legacy, so it’s meant everything.
Doug Erion
Retired, 26 Years with RGA
I retired at 63…and the ESOP afforded my wife and I…to be able to retire and not have to worry about drawing social security. I wanted to be able to retire and still spend a lot of time with my grandkids. The ESOP has afforded me to do that.
Arlie Ivy
Retired, 45 Years with RGA
What our employees think about their ESOP
The ESOP is something that will benefit you down the road a whole lot more than you think it will now. One of the main things the ESOP has allowed me to do is buy (my) house on the golf course, be a member of the country club, have my own golf cart, play golf four to five times a week, and really just enjoy what I enjoy doing.
Bill Craven
Retired, 27 Years with RGA
Because of the ESOP I became a business owner, a dream that I’d had. I now have a treehouse business…and I could not have done it without the ESOP. My wife and my son are there working with me. It has created a legacy, so it’s meant everything.
Doug Erion
Retired, 26 Years with RGA
The longer that you are employed with RGA the more of your retirement you will see. The beneficial part to that is you don’t have to put anything into it. The best thing about being an employee with RGA is I’m not just an employee. I’m an employee-owner. When I walk into the company every day, I know I own a part of this company. This is a piece of me.
Elleatrice Clark
Current RGA Employee
I retired at 63…and the ESOP afforded my wife and I…to be able to retire and not have to worry about drawing social security. I wanted to be able to retire and still spend a lot of time with my grandkids. The ESOP has afforded me to do that.
Arlie Ivy
Retired, 45 Years with RGA
Commonly Asked Questions
I’ve never heard of an ESOP. What is it?
The vehicle that allows employee-owners like you to share in our growth and prosperity is our Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP. An ESOP is a type of retirement account that is 100% sponsored by the employer. We make yearly contributions of stock or cash to the ESOP on behalf of all our employee-owners, where the investment grows tax-free until distribution.
How much does the ESOP cost to the employee?
Nothing! The ESOP is 100% sponsored by the employer. You will automatically become an owner through our ESOP once you have worked for the company for one year and logged at least 1,000 hours in that 12-month period. No action is required and there is no cost to you.
How long do I have to wait to access the funds in my account?
After 6 years, you are 100% vested. You continue to earn annual allocations of company stock. ESOP benefits are for retirement so they are generally paid after employment ends. The specifics vary, but for official retirement, payment begins one year after employment ends and will generally be paid out in five equal installments.
How can I improve the ESOP value?
As an employee, you contribute your effort, your ideas, and your teamwork every single day. Your work, combined with the work of your fellow employee-owners, drives company performance and increases the value of our business. This value flows back to you as an owner through an increased share price.
Because we are all owners, increased company performance turns into dollars in the bank for everyone. The more that each of us can do to make our company successful, the better off we will all be financially. That’s the ownership advantage.
Commonly Asked Questions
I’ve never heard of an ESOP. What is it?
How much does the ESOP cost to the employee?
The vehicle that allows employee-owners like you to share in our growth and prosperity is our Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP. An ESOP is a type of retirement account that is 100% sponsored by the employer. We make yearly contributions of stock or cash to the ESOP on behalf of all our employee-owners, where the investment grows tax-free until distribution.
Nothing! The ESOP is 100% sponsored by the employer. You will automatically become an owner through our ESOP once you have worked for the company for one year and logged at least 1,000 hours in that 12-month period. No action is required and there is no cost to you.
How long do I have to wait to access the funds in my account?
After 6 years, you are 100% vested. You continue to earn annual allocations of company stock. ESOP benefits are for retirement so they are generally paid after employment ends. The specifics vary, but for official retirement, payment begins one year after employment ends and will generally be paid out in five equal installments.
How can I improve the ESOP value?
As an employee, you contribute your effort, your ideas, and your teamwork every single day. When you combine your work, with the work of other fellow employee-owners, company performance increases and so does the value of the ESOP. This value flows back to you as an owner through an increased share price.
Because we are all owners, increased company performance turns into dollars in the bank for everyone. The more that each of us can do to make our company successful, the better off we will all be financially. That’s the ownership advantage.
Meet Our Peace Committee
The Peace Committee’s role is to serve as a key resource to educate and improve employees’ awareness of employee ownership benefits, and how the ESOP works. They are also here to be a sounding board for what you, the employee owners, need and want to see happen with your company.
Pictured Left to Right: Rick Patton, Outside Sales – Springdale; Heath Borden; Outside Sales – Muscle Shoals; David Foley, Operations – Oklahoma City; Bill King, Inside Sales – Toledo; Kimberlee Eaton, HR – Corporate; Elleatrice Clark, Accounting – Corporate; Zach DeGroff, Executive – Corporate; Dalton Friar, Inside Sales – Memphis.