Retirement plans are one of the most valuable benefits you can offer your employees. When creating and operating a retirement plan for your employees, you become a fiduciary. Anybody using their discretion to administer or manage a plan, or control a plan’s assets, is a fiduciary of that plan. This includes anyone getting paid to give advice or make recommendations. When stepping into your role as a plan fiduciary it is important to understand your role, responsibilities, and financial liability. As a plan fiduciary you are expected to act with loyalty towards beneficiaries, act prudently, diversify investments, and plan provisions. As a business owner, you aren’t necessarily expected to be a retirement plan expert, but you should find people to help you get there.
Have you checked your plan recently?
Creating and implementing a comprehensive plan for your employees is only part of your role as a fiduciary. You’re also responsible for making sure this plan continues to stay competitive and relevant as years go by. Be sure to benchmark your plan at least every 3 years to be sure that your fees and services are in line with fiduciary best practices. You should also store your benchmark information in a way that is easily accessible.
Has your employee count changed?
Employee counts can change pretty regularly depending on your industry. If you’ve had changes to personnel that change your overall employee count, you’ll need to update your plan to reflect this.
Have there been any retirement plan changes?
Any changes to current plans need to be observed and accounted for. This simply increases the need to be checking on your plan, and the individual pieces it’s comprised of, regularly.
You’ll want to be sure you’re staying up to date on all of your duties, as fiduciaries who break standards of conduct can be found personally liable to restore any losses to the plan, or to restore profits made through improper use of the plan’s assets. This doesn’t just include things being done incorrectly, but things not being done at all. Be sure that you’re carrying out all of your responsibilities as a fiduciary to protect your employees, and yourself. Contact an RG professional below if you have any questions about your role as a plan fiduciary.
