An organized, well-managed retirement plan committee is a key foundation of a successful retirement plan. Forming an effective retirement plan committee not only fosters more diverse ideas and opinions, but it also challenges the status quo to create and maintain a more thoughtful plan. For this reason, an important first step in fulfilling plan governance requirements is to establish and operate an effective retirement plan committee.
As a new year approaches, now is the opportunity for plan sponsors to review their retirement plans to ensure that they’re legally compliant and up to date. From increases in annual contribution limits to sweeping changes to the IRS regulations governing hardship distributions, an annual review should be conducted to even the most well-crafted plan. Read on for some helpful tips that can make your annual retirement plan checkup as streamlined and stress-free as possible.
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.
Cyber risks have become a more significant issue in the retirement space in recent years. With many plans using multiple service providers that share large amounts of data, vulnerabilities are evident, and risks are prevalent. Both plan assets and personally identifiable information (PII) are at risk. While completely eliminating these risks is impossible, managing these risks is achievable and is essential to not only following ERISA prudence standards, but simply in serving the best interests of plan participants as well. It is important to remember that managing your cybersecurity is an ongoing process and it should not be rushed. Below, we review key preventative measures against common cyberattacks.
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.