Keeping Your Plan Compliant
Employee benefit plans, particularly defined contribution plans, must be properly invested and managed to be successful and compliant. As part of their fiduciary obligations, plan sponsors too often overlook these critically important aspects of plan design and administration when they delegate or over-delegate aspects to outside advisors and consultants. A comprehensive review of your plan’s administrative procedures and investment menu or investment policy by Employee Benefits Law Group will help ensure that you are adhering to your fiduciary responsibilities regarding the oversight of your plan administration and investments. This review also provides plan sponsors with a better understanding of their responsibilities regarding the day-to-day operations of administering their plans.
We offer compliance help to investment advisors that’s backed by years of experience.
Due to shifting economic conditions, changing actuarial assumptions and increasingly complex regulations, it’s more important than ever for fiduciaries of defined benefit plans to understand how the design, administration, investment and funding of defined benefit plans must be coordinated and viewed together with the budget and financial statements of the plan sponsor.
We have a proven track record of coordinating the design, administration, investment and funding of defined benefit plans within the budget and financial statements of plan sponsors.
Beyond the review stage, we also assist retirement plan advisors to adopt and implement best-in-class business practices that make their practices attractive to plan fiduciaries.
Compliance Offerings
By working with Employee Benefits Law Group, you’ll have access to a broad suite of fiduciary compliance services. We can help sponsors and fiduciaries:
- Understand the fiduciary duties and obligations under tax-qualified ERISA and non-ERISA plans.
Our clear and simple guidance helps you fully understand these challenging responsibilities. - Install ERISA best practices that limit exposure to participant claims or regulatory action.
- Analyze how your investment lineups and fees are structured.
Because plan administrative expenses are frequently paid out of participant accounts, and not by the employer, many plan sponsors don’t pay enough attention to whether these fees are competitive or even reasonable. We help plan sponsors understand the importance of monitoring plan investment and fees along with the costs and consequences of inadequate investment and fees oversight. - Simplify and improve plan investments.
We can help you structure investment lineups to help participants be more successful in their retirement investing. - Develop best practices to comply with ERISA 404(c) and similar rules for California governmental plans.
Many government plan sponsors and their participant-directed 457(b) and 401(a) plans are subject to fiduciary rules and mandates similar to those found in ERISA section 404(c). We’ll keep you compliant. - Work with retirement plan investment consultants and advisors to understand the differences between the ERISA 3(21) and 3(38) business models.
Additionally, we can help structure your businesses to service both ERISA and non-ERISA retirement plans. We have decades of ERISA 3(38) experience. - Draft a client-friendly advisory agreement.
For investment advisors who want to make sound business proposals when dealing with ERISA and non-ERISA clients, we can work with them to develop easy-to-read and user-friendly client advisory agreements. A simple and straightforward advisory agreement can go a long way toward earning the trust and confidence of a new client.