RETIREMENT PLAN DIVISION

Chris A. Middleton, CTFA Executive Vice President, Director of Retirement Plan Division

Assisting employers with plan governance and compliance is a cornerstone of our business. To better serve our clients, we initiated a payroll integration project to help streamline regular payroll contribution transmittals. With this new process improvement, changes within a client’s payroll system automatically trigger the same changes in our retirement plan software system. We are excited to roll this option out to most of our clients in 2023 and beyond. Continuing into 2023, we will reduce manual entry for employer payroll over to the retirement plan platform. The IRS-mandated “Cycle 3” plan document restatements were completed for all of our clients well ahead of the July 31, 2022, due date.

There was no shortage of legislative noise and changes during the year as well. In one of its final acts of 2022, Congress approved a massive year-end spending bill that included the enactment of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE)

Act 2.0. This bill combined three separate retirementfocused bills that enjoyed bipartisan support across both chambers. It builds on the original SECURE Act which was approved by Congress in 2019. At the heart of the legislation are dozens of changes to employersponsored plans which are intended to encourage companies to start new plans, strengthen existing plans and bolster participation by employees. One key provision for individual savers is an increase in the age at which individuals must begin taking Required

Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from their retirement account to age 73 from age 72 beginning January 1, 2023. In 2033, the RMD age will increase again to 75. RMDs will be eliminated completely for Roth 401(k) accounts beginning in 2024. Many of the other

SECURE Act 2.0 provisions are set to take effect in a laddered fashion extending into 2027. We stand ready to assist employers through the years ahead for all the changes and hurdles that tend to arise with new legislative actions.

Client service is a Greenleaf Trust hallmark. We employ a “high touch with high tech” participant service model. During 2022, we conducted nearly 1,600 group and one-on-one participant meetings. For those not able to engage with our service team in person, we adopted a new omnichannel help center platform which allows participants to communicate directly with our team through a variety of contact channels (call, text, chat, self-service, etc.). As a result, participants are now able to get help in new ways that align with how they prefer to interact. Capturing real-time client satisfaction feedback also ensures our team is effectively fielding client needs and addressing any unknown concerns. Of course, electronic and virtual developments continue to accelerate as regulations catch up with technological capabilities. Lifetime income disclosures were added to participant statements in the summer of 2022. We have also shifted processes by providing numerous disclosures in an electronic format which is more efficient and significantly reduces unnecessary paper usage.

Once again, the final report indicated a “clean” audit confirming that financial transactions within our clients’ plans are cross-checked and validated for accuracy. We are committed to continuing with this elective audit for the benefit of everyone who entrusts their assets to the Retirement Plan Division.

Our team has extensive experience within the retirement industry, and we strive to provide each employer and plan participant with the information they require to attain success in retirement. Our long-time team member, Lorey Matties, was promoted to senior participant services specialist, the highest level attainable within that role. Another long-time colleague, Chris Sharp, earned the Qualified 401(k) Administrator™ designation through the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries. Additionally, the formal expertise of our two newest teammates has helped us build the most credentialed team we have ever had further enhancing our ability to assist in design, installation and administration of retirement plans. Our talented people and streamlined systems are key to providing remarkable client outcomes, and there is no doubt 2023 will prove to be a banner year for the Retirement Plan Division!

As a plan fiduciary, audits and safeguards are imperative for the safety and security of our clients. Beyond all of the normal requirements of a state-chartered bank, we again engaged in the SOC-1 audit for 2022. This audit is specifically geared toward the process and controls used to ensure our division is functioning appropriately.

We are pleased to report our progress during 2022 on a number of critical areas. While our strategic initiatives were all different and presented their own challenges, the underlying themes of patience and intentional focus were common throughout.

Great Lakes Bay Region

The year 2022 marked the official opening of our newest office in Midland. Our exceptional client centric team is now fully established and ready to serve and guide our clients in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

We are so pleased to have Karen McNish, J.D., and Carol Jackson join our team to provide exceptional guidance and service to our clients. After our first full year, we are more excited than ever to see the strong alignment of community traits and the fit with our workplace and business cultures. We continue to see a bright future for our Midland-based team!

Southeast Michigan

As 2022 came to a close, we were excited to name Bill Feldmaier as the new managing director of our Birmingham office. Southeast Michigan presents our largest single opportunity for purposeful growth. Having a great team with a strong leader like Bill positions Birmingham exceptionally well for the future of serving the needs of Southeast Michigan.

Complex Estate Administration

During 2022, Greenleaf Trust continued to build experience and depth in the area of complex estate administration. We are actively serving as trustee of a complex estate with responsibility for the management, marketing and orderly liquidation of significant commercial real estate and farmland parcels. Additionally, we are responsible for the management of various operating entities as we look to suitable buyers. We are confident in our ability to deliver a strong result for the trust’s beneficiaries and to honor the wishes and legacy of the grantor. Overall, we continue to strengthen and expand our capacity for serving our clients, regardless of stage of life, need or complexity.

In summary, we are proud of the significant progress made during 2022 toward our meaningful strategic initiatives. We will continue to employ the lens of client needs and our core competencies as we assess our opportunities for thoughtful growth and determine our strategic path forward.