Is Your Retirement Plan Advisor Providing the Best Services?

Outsourcing retirement plan management duties to a retirement advisor can just be good business—not only are these advisors up-to-speed on the most current regulations governing retirement plan offerings and industry best practices, but they can also free up a plan sponsor’s time to focus on critical aspects of company operation. However, it’s important to evaluate these advisors at the outset (and regularly during their administration of the plan) to ensure that you’re receiving the best possible services. How can you tell if your advisor is doing a good job? Below are a few key attributes that describe a good retirement plan advisor.

Avoid These Common Plan Sponsor Mistakes

Once you’ve done the tough work of creating and implementing a retirement plan for your organization, you might assume that it’ll be smooth sailing from this point on. But the ongoing management of a well-functioning retirement plan can be far more challenging than it may seem. With so many different moving parts, it’s not unusual for things to fall through the cracks, even for the most meticulous plan sponsors. Learn more about some of the most common plan sponsor mistakes and how to avoid them.

Finding the Right OCIO Partner

As financial regulations and global markets become increasingly complex, more organizations have decided to conserve their in-house resources by outsourcing the role of the Chief Investment Officer. Organizations that partner with an outsourced CIO (OCIO) find it to be an effective solution for dedicated expertise, sophisticated research and analytics, and faster investment decision making. However, finding the right OCIO provider is becoming more difficult given the growth in the number of firms providing OCIO services and the complexity of their solutions. Managing the assets of an organization is mission-critical so it’s important not to rush into choosing an OCIO provider that may not be the right fit for your business.

Ongoing Plan Sponsor Concerns

Managing a thoughtful retirement plan while trying to keep up with the ever-changing legal and regulatory environment can be challenging. Often, concerns over managing a retirement plan can vary, and plan sponsors are unsure of what needs to be addressed. Below, we review five ongoing plan sponsor concerns that sponsors should keep in mind to guarantee they have an effective retirement plan in place not only to ensure the retirement readiness of their employees, but to avoid liability should an audit occur.

Why Plan Sponsors Need a Retirement Plan Consultant

Offering a thoughtful retirement plan can provide many benefits to an organization. It can have a significant impact on the hiring and retention of key employees as well as improving employees’ retirement readiness. However, the retirement plan space is complex. Trying to develop and manage a plan while complying with the constantly evolving legal and regulatory environment is not easy. Plan sponsors are held to a number of regulatory and fiduciary obligations, and failure to advocate on behalf of its plan members’ best interests can be subjected to hefty civil fines and penalties. Many sponsors lack the expertise to manage their retirement plan and fulfill their fiduciary obligations. This is where the need for a retirement plan consultant arises. Learn the key areas of service that retirement plan consultants can provide and why many organizations choose to hire one.