Systems and methods for providing loan management from cash or deferred income arrangements

• US 7,398,245 B1
• Filed: 06/27/2002
• Issued: 07/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ACCESS CONTROL ADVANTAGE, INC.
• Original Assignee: Reserve Solutions Incorporated
• Inventors: Vernaglia, Mark, Bent, Bruce, Bent, Bruce II
• Primary Examiner(s): Dass; Harish T
• Application Number:
  US10/183,661
• Time in Patent Office: 2,203 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35- 40, 364/408
• US Class Current: 705/38
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

This invention includes methods and systems for providing participants in benefit plans with loans related to the participants'"'"' vested assets in the benefit plans. Administrative systems of this invention provide for loan-fund account setup and modification, manage account use, interface to established access vehicles (check, credit card, debit card, wire transfer, ACH, sweeps, ATMs, etc.), as well as to established benefit-plan management systems. Methods of this invention manage participant loans in accordance with statutes, regulations, and policies applicable in relevant jurisdictions. Overall, this invention provides participants low cost financing using tax-advantaged assets which is particularly useful to individuals without other access to alternative low cost credit.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing loans to a participant having assets in a benefit plan account comprising:

initializing loan-fund account data stored in a computer database upon establishing a loan-fund account for the participant which loan-fund account is associated with one or more investment vehicles of the benefit plan account, wherein the initializing further comprises funding the loan-fund account by investing participant assets in the one or more investment vehicles, wherein the one or more investment vehicles associated with the loan-fund account are segregated from other investment vehicles of the benefit plan account, and wherein money is cable of being drawn for loans from the loan-fund account, wherein the loan-fund account is managed by an investment manager;

generating request-data representing requests to the investment manager to;

(i) transfer funds from the loan-fund account that is less than a full amount of funds in the loan fund account to settle redemptions made by the participant'"'"'s use of at least one access vehicle;

or (ii) accept funds into the loan-fund account upon the participant'"'"'s repayment of redemptions;

updating the stored loan-fund account data with redemption data, fund transfer data, and fund acceptance data, whereby loan redemptions and repayments occur without access to assets in other of the investment vehicles of the participant'"'"'s benefit-plan account not associated with the loan fund account using a redemption/repayment accounting software process associated with the loan fund account that computes a current balance in the loan-fund account based on funds transferred from assets in the loan-fund account to settle redemptions and funds accepted as assets into the loan fund account as repayments of redemptions; and

administering the loan-fund account so that it is capable of being portable and does not require the participant to pay off the transfer of any funds from the loan-fund account to settle redemptions made by the participant'"'"'s use of the at least one access vehicle upon employment termination of the participant.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the generated request-data is communicated to the investment manager in order to request that funds be transferred from or accepted into the loan-fund account.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising receiving redemption data from at least one system processing access vehicle transactions.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising communicating to the benefit plan stored loan-find account data.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the access vehicle includes a check, or a credit card, or a debit card, or a wire transfer, or an ACH, or a sweep, or an ATM.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein funds are transferred from or accepted into the loan-fund account by request to the investment manager.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

initializing a current balance of available funds in the loan-find account to an available line of credit (LOC) value determined for the participant; and

adjusting the current balance of available funds in the loan-fund account to be equal to the LOC value minus the participant'"'"'s past redemptions that have not yet been repaid by

increasing the current balance of available funds upon receiving the participant'"'"'s repayments; and

decreasing the current balance of available funds upon settling the participant'"'"'s redemptions.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 wherein the LOC value is equal to the loan-fund account current balance, whereby all of the current balance in the loan-fund account are available for settling participant redemptions.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 further comprising generating authorization-data representing authorization of a participant'"'"'s proposed redemption only if the proposed redemption is less than or equal to the stored current balance of the loan-fund account.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein all funds in the loan-fund account are available for settling participant redemptions.

11. The method of claim 7 further comprising authorizing a participant'"'"'s proposed redemption only if it is less than or equal to the current balance of available finds in the loan-fund account.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising communicating to the benefit plan stored loan-fund account data.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the one or more investment vehicles comprises at least one share of a money-market fund.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the one or more investment vehicles comprises at least one substantially stable value investment vehicle.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the redemption/repayment accounting process associated with the loan-fund account does not change a loan fund asset amount listed in account information of the benefit plan account relating to the loan fund account.

16. A computer system for providing loans to a participant having assets in a benefit plan account comprising:

at least one computer; and

a memory operatively coupled to the at least one computer, the memory including data including program code for causing the processor to perform the following method steps;

initializing loan-fund account data stored in a computer database upon establishing a loan-fund account for the participant which loan-fund account is associated with one or more investment vehicles of the benefit plan account, wherein the initializing further comprises funding the loan-fund account by investing participant assets in the one or more investment vehicles, wherein the one or more investment vehicles associated with the loan-fund account are segregated from other investment vehicles of the benefit plan account, and wherein money is capable of being drawn for loans from the loan-fund account, wherein the loan-find account is managed by an investment manager;

generating request-data representing requests to the investment manager to;

(i) transfer funds from the loan-fund account that is less than a full amount of funds in the loan fund account to settle redemptions made by the participant'"'"'s use of at least one access vehicle;

or (ii) accept funds into the loan-fund account upon the participant'"'"'s repayment of redemptions;

updating the stored loan-fund account data with redemption data, find transfer data, and fund acceptance data, whereby loan redemptions and repayments occur without access to assets in other of the investment vehicles of the participant'"'"'s benefit-plan account not associated with the loan fund account using a redemption/repayment accounting software process associated with the loan fund account that computes a current balance in the loan-fund account based on funds transferred from assets in the loan-fund account to settle redemptions and funds accepted as assets into the loan fund account as repayments of redemptions; and

administering the loan-fund account so that it is capable of being portable and does not require the participant to pay off the transfer of any funds from the loan-fund account to settle redemptions made by the participant'"'"'s use of the at least one access vehicle upon employment termination of the participant.

17. A computer-readable media comprising:

one or more computer usable media having computer readable program code embodied therein or among them, to be executed by a computer, the computer readable program code comprising;

program code for initializing loan-fund account data stored in a computer database upon establishing a loan-find account for the participant which loan-fund account is associated with one or more investment vehicles of the benefit plan account, wherein the initializing further comprises funding the loan-fund account by investing participant assets in the one or more investment vehicles, wherein the one or more investment vehicles associated with the loan-fund account are segregated from other investment vehicles of the benefit plan account, and wherein money is capable of being drawn for loans from the loan-fund account, wherein the loan-fund account is managed by an investment manager;

generating request-data representing requests to the investment manager to;

(i) transfer funds from the loan-fund account that is less than a full amount of funds in the loan fund account to settle redemptions made by the participant'"'"'s use of at least one access vehicle;

or (ii) accept funds into the loan-fund account upon the participant'"'"'s repayment of redemptions;

updating the stored loan-fund account data with redemption data, fund transfer data, and fund acceptance data, whereby loan redemptions and repayments occur without access to assets in other of the investment vehicles of the participant'"'"'s benefit-plan account not associated with the loan fund account using a redemption/repayment accounting software process associated with the loan fund account that computes a current balance in the loan-fund account based on funds transferred from assets in the loan-fund account to settle redemptions and funds accepted as assets into the loan fund account as repayments of redemptions; and

administering the loan-fund account so that it is capable of being portable and does not require the participant to pay off the transfer of any finds from the loan-fund account to settle redemptions made by the participant'"'"'s use of the at least one access vehicle upon employment termination of the participant.