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THE CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS GROUP LIFE AND WELFARE BENEFITS PLAN

NEW YORK, NY · EIN 133389578 · Form 990 · FY2024 · Medium ($1M-$10M) · cirsplans.org
revenue
$1.6M
expenses
$1.6M
net assets
$1.4M
employees
0
volunteers
12
profile · synthesized from sources

The Cultural Institutions Group Life and Welfare Benefits Plan is a retirement and life insurance benefits plan for employees of participating cultural institutions and daycare sponsoring boards in New York. Established in 1962, it provides portable benefits including pension, savings, and group life insurance plans. Membership is available to eligible employees who work at least 15 hours per week and meet age and service requirements.

named programs · 3 · from sources

What they call their work

CIRS 401(k) Savings Plan
Retirement savings plan with automatic enrollment for eligible employees; allows members to contribute to a tax-advantaged retirement account
CIRS Group Life Insurance Plan
Group life insurance benefits for eligible employees; benefits are portable if the employee moves to another participating employer
CIRS Pension Plan
Defined benefit pension plan with Tier I and Tier II membership based on hire date; provides monthly pension benefits calculated using years of service and final average salary
activities · 3 groups

What they do

  • Union and Association Benefit Funds 7 activities
    • Administers a 401(k) savings plan
      Offers a 401(k) Savings Plan allowing eligible employees to contribute pre-tax or post-tax percentages of their paycheck to supplement retirement income. The plan includes investment options such as State Street Target Retirement Funds, core bond/stock/cash funds, and a Self-Directed Brokerage Account with TD Ameritrade (for an annual fee). Mandatory minimum contributions were eliminated as of January 1, 2017.
    • Administers a defined-benefit pension plan for eligible employees
      Provides a defined-benefit pension plan that delivers monthly retirement income for life or joint life, fully funded by employer contributions for Tier I members. Benefits are calculated using a formula based on a percentage of years of Benefit Service and Final Average Salary (2.0% for Tier I, 1.4% for others).
    • Manages benefit plan administration and compliance reporting
      Generates and sends IRS Form 1099-R to members receiving $10 or more in distributions from the CIRS 401(k) or Pension Plan. Implements plan changes per collective bargaining agreements and transitions administrative services between providers (e.g., from Voya Financial to Transamerica).
    • Offers portable benefit plans across participating employers
      Provides portable retirement and welfare benefits that allow eligible employees to maintain coverage and accumulate service time when moving between participating cultural institutions, ensuring continuity of pension, 401(k), and life insurance benefits.
    • Processes employee contributions and refunds
      Withholds mandatory after-tax contributions from members' paychecks based on salary tiers and provides refunds of accumulated employee contributions with interest after a six-month waiting period for members who terminate employment before vesting.
    • Provides group life and welfare benefits
      Offers group life insurance and welfare benefits to protect employees' families from financial loss due to death, available to eligible employees of participating cultural institutions. Benefits include pre-tax group life coverage and are portable when employees move between participating employers.
    • Supports participating employers with payroll and reporting systems
      Provides instructional resources and videos for participating employers on payroll remittance, member maintenance, submission reviews, feedback reports, and banking information via an employer portal.
  • Retirement Benefits Education & Support 1 activity
    • Provides retirement counseling and pre-retirement assistance
      Offers individual retirement counseling appointments and pre-retirement assistance through one-on-one remote meetings with CIRS staff to review retirement paperwork and support employees in planning for retirement.
  • Death Benefit Payments to Members 1 activity
    • Provides survivor and post-retirement death benefits
      Provides a 50% survivor benefit to beneficiaries of vested members who die before retirement. Also provides a post-retirement lump sum death benefit equal to 25% of the annual retirement benefit (minimum $2,500, maximum $5,000) to beneficiaries of eligible retirees who did not elect a lump sum payout.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$1.58M
Contributions & grants$00%
Program service revenue$1.52M96%
Investment income$64K4%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$1.61M
Program expenses
Admin / overhead
Fundraising
Salaries & benefits$0
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineProfessional Fees
balance sheet
Total assets$1.96M
Cash$1.81M
Investments$0
Liabilities$523K
Net assets$1.44M
Liquid reserves13.4 mo
6 years on record · 2019–2024 · YoY revenue +4.0%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 3
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
DANIEL STODDARD BOARD OF TRUSTEES 0 $464K
ROSE LOVAGLIO-MILLER CO-CHAIR 0 $326K
RAYMOND SANTANDER BOARD OF TRUSTEES 0 $176K
board members · 6
  • BISHA NURSE — BOARD OF TRUSTEES
  • DAVID B SCOTT SCHIFF — BOARD OF TRUSTEES
  • JEAN JEREMIE — BOARD OF TRUSTEES THRU 01/2025
  • MELANIE HARTZOG — CO-CHAIR
  • NAEEM CRAWFORD-MUHAMMAD — BOARD OF TRUSTEES
  • NILESH PATEL — BOARD OF TRUSTEES
relationships · 18

Who they work with

  • Participating Employer Partner — Employers who choose to participate in the CIRS benefit plans and employ eligible workers.
  • State Street Partner — Provider of Target Retirement Funds in the CIRS 401(k) Savings Plan investment lineup
  • State Street Partner — Provider of Target Retirement funds and core investment options for the CIRS 401(k) Savings Plan.
  • State Street Retiree Services Partner — Issues Form 1099-R for the CIRS 401(k) Savings Plan
  • TD Ameritrade Partner — Partner for the Self-Directed Brokerage Account, offering expanded investment options in mutual funds and ETFs.
  • TD Ameritrade Partner — Provider of the Self-Directed Brokerage Account option for the CIRS 401(k) Savings Plan
  • Transamerica Government — Administrator of the Pension Plan responsible for account management, beneficiary updates, and benefit calculations.
  • Transamerica Government — Administrator of the Pension Plan responsible for member accounts, beneficiary updates, and benefit estimates.
  • Transamerica Partner — Administrative partner handling retirement kit requests and pension benefit processing.
  • Transamerica Partner — Administrative partner providing pension plan support and Spanish-speaking representatives.
  • Transamerica Partner — Administrative partner responsible for processing pension plan beneficiary elections and providing benefit estimates.
  • Transamerica Retirement Solutions Government — New pension plan administrator effective May 2, 2016
  • Transamerica Retirement Solutions Partner — Issues Form 1099-R for the CIRS Pension Plan
  • Voya Partner — Administrative and investment services partner for the CIRS 401(k) Savings Plan, providing account access, beneficiary management, and investment advice.
  • Voya Partner — Administrative partner providing 401(k) savings plan support and Spanish-speaking representatives.
  • Voya Partner — Administrative partner responsible for managing the 401(k) Savings Plan and handling beneficiary elections for both the savings and group life plans.
  • Voya Partner — Hosts online account access for CIRS 401(k) Savings Plan participants
  • Voya Financial Government — Administrator for the CIRS 401(k) Savings Plan and former administrator for the pension plan
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Benefits Portability for Continuous Accumulation
    methodology: benefits_portability
    By enabling employees to retain and accumulate retirement benefits when moving between participating employers, the plan enhances long-term retirement security, because continuous benefit accrual increases participation and reduces fragmentation of retirement savings.
  • Defined Benefit Pension Model
    methodology: defined_benefit_pension
    By providing a guaranteed lifetime monthly income through a defined benefit pension structure, the plan reduces long-term financial risk for retirees and ensures predictable retirement security, because stable, employer-funded benefits remove investment and longevity risk from individuals.
  • Five-Year Vesting for Long-Term Security
    methodology: five_year_vesting
    By requiring five years of service for full vesting in accrued benefits, the plan incentivizes workforce stability and ensures that employees who remain long enough gain irrevocable rights to retirement benefits, because vesting schedules align employer obligations with sustained employment.
  • Rule of 85 for Unreduced Early Retirement
    methodology: rule_of_85_retirement
    By allowing unreduced early retirement when age and years of service total 85, the plan supports workforce flexibility and retirement readiness, because it enables experienced employees to retire earlier without financial penalty when they have contributed substantially to the system.
  • Target-Date Investment Strategy for Automatic Adjustment
    methodology: target_date_investing
    By using target-date funds as a default investment option, the plan automatically adjusts asset allocation as members approach retirement, simplifying investment decisions and improving long-term outcomes, because age-based de-risking aligns portfolio risk with retirement timeline.