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 … Continue reading Excessive Fee Litigation: The Best Defense is Compliance

Investment refresh is an optional extension to automatic enrollment whereby participants would be notified that, as of a certain date, their current investment allocation will be transferred to the plan’s qualified default investment alternative (“QDIA”) investment. The QDIA is frequently an age/risk appropriate target date fund (“TDF”). Any participant may opt out of this action … Continue reading The Case for Investment Refresh

This month’s employee memo encourages employees to conduct a regular examination of their retirement plan to determine whether any changes need to be made. Download the memo from your Fiduciary Briefcase at fiduciarybriefcase.com. Earn your full savings potential by hitting the full match plus more. For help finding the correct deferral amount for you, contact … Continue reading Participant Corner: Don’t Skip the Match

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This saying is universal, and certainly applies to fiduciary responsibility. Beginning the year with an eye towards avoiding some of the most common errors makes sense. Most fiduciary errors are unintentional or even well meaning. Here are some examples. Following Plan Documents and Communicating Changes … Continue reading Common Fiduciary Errors

Private equity funds invest in privately held companies whose stock is not traded on public exchanges. Private equity fund managers expect to increase the value of their investments by providing capital and acumen for the purpose of improving performance/value of these companies. The Department of Labor (DOL) recently released an “information letter” regarding the potential … Continue reading Private Equity Investments in Defined Contribution (DC) Plans

The coronavirus relief includes a “temporary rule preventing partial plan terminations” for plan sponsors of defined contribution retirement plans. The provision specifically states, “A plan shall not be treated as having a partial termination (within the meaning of 4119(d)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) during any plan year which includes the period beginning … Continue reading Continuity, Coronavirus, ERISA, Stimulus Package

This month’s employee memo encourages employees to learn about their retirement plan to determine whether any changes need to be made. Download the memo from your Fiduciary Briefcase at fiduciarybriefcase.com. Your employer provides you with a retirement plan for you to save money in, tax-deferred, for the day you bid your career farewell and enter … Continue reading Participant Corner: Retirement Plan Facts

Yes! The primary purpose of a committee charter is to document overall plan governance. It is not dissimilar to how your Investment Policy Statement (IPS) acts as a “roadmap” for managing your plan investments. The charter also documents delegation of fiduciary responsibilities from the plan’s “named fiduciary” to co-fiduciaries. Even small plans with a single … Continue reading Should You Adopt a Plan Committee Charter?

Plan Sponsors should understand that terminated employees who left their account balance in your plan, are still considered participants under ERISA. As such, they have the same rights as current employees. They cannot contribute to their account under the plan but otherwise they have the same ERISA protected rights as plan participants. One protected right … Continue reading Former Employees with Plan Assets are Still Plan Participants

Department of Labor (DOL) enforcement recoveries are on the rise. A recent DOL report indicates that DOL recoveries have doubled since 2018 and tripled since 2016 (https://www.investmentnews.com/dol-retirement-plan-recoveries-198660).  As a result, fiduciary liability premiums have increased 35% since last year (https://www.investmentnews.com/fiduciary-insurance-costs-401k-litigation-198407). Fiduciaries are personally responsible for participant losses resulting from a fiduciary breach. Plan sponsor fiduciaries … Continue reading 3(38) Advisory Services – Should Fiduciaries Outsource Retirement Plan Investment Responsibility?