Brief Company HistoryDr. J. Harvey Carruth is nationally recognized as a 403(b) and 457(b) plans expert. He directed the Individualized Retirement Financial Planning Project at The University of Tennessee from 1980 through 1997, then founded Carruth Compliance Consulting, Inc. (CCC), an Oregon Corporation. During the period since 1997, CCC has developed solid consultant-client relationships with numerous Oregon and Washington State Public School Districts, ESDs, and Colleges. CCC services remove significant loads from the shoulders of school business officials, especially now that Final 403(b) Regulations have been published. Compliance Issues403(b) Tax Sheltered Annuity (TSA) Plans and 457 Deferred Compensation Plans (DCP) are rift with complexities, not the least of which is the need for historical salary, service, and contribution data all the way back to initial employment for some employees. Collection of historical data has proven to be one of the greatest single hurdles in audit-proofing efforts associated with both TSA and DCP Plans. Other constantly changing rules and regulations include: - Elective deferral limits and catch-up provisions.
- Contract exchanges, plan-to-plan transfers, and rollovers.
- Loans, hardship withdrawals, severance pay, and back pay.
- Early retirement incentives and post-retirement contributions.
- Solicitation rules and requirements for vendors.
Compliance Monitoring ServicesCarruth Compliance Consulting, Inc. (CCC) has developed, tested, and implemented a proprietary cost-effective critical pathway methodology that obviates the need for collecting historical payroll data for more than 95% of the participants in 403(b) and 457(b) Plans. Moreover, for the less than 5% of participants for whom historical data must be collected, a non-intrusive data collection approach is used, in that it does not require contacting either employees or investment companies. Plan Administration ServicesCCC serves as the clearing house for all aspects of plan administration except for the standard Payroll functions of receiving Salary Reduction Agreements, data entry into the Payroll system, and remittance of contributions to investment companies. Comprehensive practices and procedures are implemented for CCC clients, most of which are made available in client-specific sections of this website. Plan administrative services provided by CCC include: - Information about participation in the plans.
- Online salary reduction and service provider agreements.
- List of and links to vendor websites.
- Administration of contracts and plan-to-plan transfers.
- Administration of rollover distributions.
- Administration of other types of transactions.
- Administrative policies and procedures.
- Communications with administrators and employees.
No Conflicts of InterestCCC personnel have never been involved in marketing 403(b) or 457(b) products, nor will they ever be so involved. Therefore, there cannot be even the appearance of a conflict of interest in the services provided by CCC. References
Feel free to contact any of the officials listed in our references for evaluations of the quality and value of services provided by Carruth Compliance Consulting, Inc. Learn More
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CCC Team Members
Final 403(b) Regulations, published by the IRS in July of 2007, imposed significant new requirements on employers sponsoring 403(b) plans. As a result, many public employers have turned to CCC for compliance monitoring services. For this reason, and to ensure that all CCC clients will continue to receive the superb service they have received through the years, CCC has added highly-qualified new staff. We were most fortunate to secure the services of Heather Mondor and Justin Winters during the Fall of 2007, and to have added Jim Kelleher, Geeta Kumar, Heather Opitz, and Jason Fields to the team more recently (see biographical information below).
Harvey Carruth
President
 Harvey established Carruth Compliance Consulting, Inc. (CCC) in 1998 with the purpose of providing compliance monitoring services to public school districts for their supplemental retirement savings plans (TSAs under Section 403(b) and DCPs under Section 457(b) of the Internal Revenue Code). Beginning in 2002 Harvey began an expansion of the services offered by CCC to include certain plan administration services, primarily through a website with dedicated individual Employer sections. Publication of new 403(b) Regulations in July of 2007 has led to substantial increases in number of clients, including new clients in Washington state. Click here for Harvey's personal and skiing information page.
Jim Kelleher
Chief Operating Officer
 Jim comes to CCC with extensive experience in the financial services industry. Prior to CCC, Jim was a Director in Credit Risk Management at Deutsche Bank in New York and previously worked with JP Morgan Chase and Union Bank of Switzerland. Jim also spent five years working at Intel Corporation supporting the services business in controlling, business development, and sales roles. Jim graduated from UVA in 1989 and has an MBA from NYU. Most recently Jim passed both Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent (ERPA) exams, which once all other enrollment requirements are met will qualify him to practice before the IRS on certain retirement plan issues.
Heather Mondor
Director of Compliance and Data Analysis
 Heather is responsible for analyzing data from CCC client employers, data related correspondence, and performing tests to monitor compliance with IRS rules concerning 403(b) accounts. Heather received her M.A. in Sociology from California State University, Sacramento. Her studies focused heavily on research methodologies, both statistical and qualitative. Ms. Mondor has presented her research at the Pacific Sociological Association and the California Sociological Association and was a Contributing Researcher on CSUS’s Sacramento Regional Quality of Life Survey. Professionally, Heather has served in Management capacities in multiple organizations and brings strong business analytics knowledge to her work at CCC.
Kayla Carruth
Director of Client Service
 Kayla has responsibility for the ongoing day-to-day operation of the office. Her excellent communications skills and desire to provide outstanding client service serve her well in working with employer personnel as well as vendors. Harvey and Kayla moved to Oregon in 1997 after long tenures at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. They love living in the Pacific Northwest and have found that new friends and colleagues have made it easy to call Oregon “home.” Unlimited opportunities for hiking, skiing, visiting wonderful sites in the area, and tasting the incredible food are definitely to their liking.
Justin Winters
Director of Technology and SPARK Systems
 Justin oversees all information technology and SPARK-based Information Sharing at CCC with emphasis on Information Security to reliably safeguard CCC client data, and brings over 20 years of proven ITSM Change Management experience to CCC's IT infrastructure. Justin has authored numerous IT industry white papers governing best practices for information security data controls, cryptanalysis of symmetric cryptography, and general computer security. His implementation of Risk Management and Management Information Systems have helped CCC grow its client base while simultaneously enhancing systems efficiency and accuracy. Justin spends his spare time divided between keeping fit at the gym and creative photography.
Heather Jean Opitz
Transaction Team Lead
 Our "Second Heather" joined the CCC team in May 2009, following more than a decade of employment with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. Heather O, as she is affectionately called in our office, came to CCC with extensive experience working with insurance and investment product transactions, which meshed nicely with CCC's transaction processing needs resulting from the Final 403(b) Regulations. Her customer support skills are superb, and we are very fortunate that she is a member of our team. Heather O moved to Oregon from Alaska in 1995 and loves being an Oregonian. She enjoys family time, traveling, working in the garden, singing, and playing piano, among many other interests.
Jason Fields
Transaction Processing and Customer Support
 We welcomed Jason to our staff in July 2009. His primary responsibilities currently focus on transaction processing, but he came right up to speed and joined Kayla, Heather M, Geeta, and Heather O to expertly handle customer support. Jason received his B.S. in Criminology (pre-law) from Southern Oregon University in 2006, interned for Community Family Courts in Jackson County before becoming full-time Assistant Court Coordinator, and most recently served as Field Service Representative for Tru-Check Metering Services in Portland.
Geeta S. Kumar
Transaction Processing and Customer Support
 Geeta graciously "came to our rescue" in 2008 when CCC's client base grew exponentially, yet our staff remained static. She brings enormous talents and experience into the organization, most recently having served as Clinical Research & Compliance Manager with Academic Network since 2003, where Geeta and Kayla had worked together several years before Kayla joined the CCC team full time. Previously Geeta had served as Senior Data Analyst with the Health Division of Multnomah County. Geeta enjoys a variety of outdoor activities with her husband Pradeep and daughters Divya and Nandita.
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