Retirement Plan Committee Activities

A retirement plan committee consists of co-fiduciaries who are responsible for all plan management activities that have been delegated to them by their plan’s named fiduciary. ERISA states that the committee must act exclusively in the best interests of plan participants, beneficiaries and alternate payees as they manage their plan’s administrative and management functions. Many […]

QDIA…. Why is it important?

The qualified default investment alternative (“QDIA”) is arguably the most important investment in a plan’s investment menu. By far the most often selected QDIA investment is a target date fund (“TDF”). TDFs are typically the only investment selection that offers unitized professionally managed portfolios that reflect the participants’ time horizon today and as they go […]

Excessive Fee Litigation: The Best Defense is Compliance

Excessive fee litigation is increasing at a steady pace and all signs are it will continue to increase. The positive side of this situation is that we now have more caselaw to consider as we work toward compliance in creating a “best defense”. Early caselaw did not reflect the consistency of court decisions. Some court […]

Target Date Funds—Does One Size Really Fit All?

If you have ever opened a brokerage account with an advisor, you know the first step is gathering information to determine the risk profile and appropriate investment allocation for the individual. In order to determine the appropriate allocation for a client, financial advisors will inquire about income level, savings rate, net worth, time horizon, spending […]

Keep Your Plan Assets Safe

Six Easy Steps to Keep Your Plan Assets SafeCyber fraud is a growing concern globally. Individuals are typically very careful to keep their bank account and email authentication information safe, but they aren’t always smart with the rest of their personal information. Participants need to be vigilant with their retirement savings accounts as well. In […]

Retirement Plan Fees

Retirement plan fees are complicated. Between administration, investment management, recordkeeping, consulting, revenue sharing, sub-TA and 12b-1, it isn’t always clear to plan participants or plan sponsors exactly what they’re paying, how much they’re paying or even who’s paying the fees.

Record Retention

<< BLOG HOME What’s the Magic Number When it Comes to Record Retention?You don’t need to be a magician to know what records to keep and for how long. While most providers can supplyreports and plan documents, the plan administrator remains ultimately responsible for retaining adequate records that support the plan document reports and filings. […]

IRS Audit Tips

ARE YOU PREPARED FOR AN IRS AUDIT? The Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS’s) Employee Benefit Audit Program is used to audit and enforce. The IRS’s emphasis, with respect to defined contribution plans is on compliance with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code), the plan’s tax qualification and administration of all plan documents. In […]

Collective Investment Trusts

CITs – The Fastest Growing Investment Vehicle Within 401(k) PlansFor almost a century, collective investment trusts (CITs) have played an important role in the markets. They were originally introduced in 1927. For the vast majority of their existence, CITs were available only in defined benefit (DB) plans. In 1936 CIT use expanded in DB plans […]