ERISA states that every plan document must identify a “Named Fiduciary” to be the individual or entity serving as the primary fiduciary responsible for all plan management activities (e.g., President, Plan Administrator, The Company (BOD), or another individual or entity). A plan must have appropriate fiduciaries in place so that it can continue operations and participants have a way to interact with the plan.
Plan sponsors and retirement plan committees are likely to encounter a myriad of industry-related naming devices and designations. It is important that they understand what each means in terms of definition, background, and practical impact/importance to the plan, the plan’s fiduciaries, and the plan’s participants.
Fiduciary Hot Topics - Federal District Court Rules Record Keepers May Use Participant Data to Cross-Sell Retail Products; the Biden Administration Plans to Walk Back the Restricting the Use of ESG Funds; Tax Payers will Pick up the Tab for Underfunded Multiemployer Pension Plans for the Next 30 Years; Funding Relief for Underfunded Single Employer Pension Plans and Senate Removes Freeze on 401(k) Inflation Adjustments from ARPA.
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.
The duty to provide participants with sufficient information to make consistently informed retirement investment decisions is a basic fiduciary responsibility under ERISA Section 404(a). However, there could be some plan committees who feel their participants are not consistently making prudent decisions.
The flow to passive management is one of the biggest talking points of the decade. With this shift came the daunting task, and responsibility, to better evaluate the abundance of index funds offered by the marketplace. Index funds seek to replicate the performance of a benchmark, making the idea of comparing returns appear counterintuitive.
Welcome to Hey Joel! This forum answers plan sponsor questions from all over the country by our in-house former practicing ERISA attorney.
Hey Joel - Is there regulatory guidance that would indicate whether forcing out terminated participants is favorable to keeping them in? What fiduciary liabilities are absolved by forcing them out (assuming this is consistent with the plan document)? ~ Responsible in Rhode Island
An exchange is a turnkey solution for businesses that allows you to provide the benefit of a retirement plan while offloading some of the administrative and fiduciary responsibilities at a potential cost reduction. A team of professionals work together on your behalf so you can focus on running your business, not your retirement plan.
