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.
Key Areas of Service Consultants Can Provide
Plan sponsors often find themselves overwhelmed with regards to their retirement plan(s). Absorbing and understanding the complex fiduciary and regulatory requirements that a plan sponsor is expected to adhere can divert your attention from what matters: the day-to-day operation of your business. A retirement plan consultant has specific expertise of the intricacies of retirement plans and will work with your organization to create and oversee a retirement plan that will achieve your goals and meet your participants’ needs.
Retirement plan consultants can provide assistance in many aspects of the plan, such as its design, the investments offered, and risks involved. Specifically, they can offer the following services:
- Assume liability as a 3(21) or 3(38) fiduciary
- Prudently select and monitor plan investment options
- Develop an Investment Policy Statement
- Consult on plan design and make amendments to improve performance
- Assist in establishing a plan committee and provide training
- Oversee quarterly or semi-annual committee meetings
- Conduct recordkeeper searches and assist in transition
- Review and negotiate plan fees
- Spur employee participation and determine effectiveness of current education
- Regularly conduct performance reviews on investment managers, recordkeepers, fund line-up and investment menu
- Regularly review IRS and DOL updates, and stay up to date with retirement plan law compliance
A good plan adviser or consultant can tailor just about any retirement plan to your needs, helping your company recruit and retain talented employees, encourage these employees to save for their future, and remain competitive in an ever-changing labor market.
Top Reasons to Hire a Retirement Plan Consultant
Are you considering hiring a retirement plan consultant, but still unsure if it is right for your plan and organization? Some of the top reasons that you and many sponsors may choose to hire a retirement plan consultant include:
- You’re unclear on your fiduciary obligations and/or you want to offload these liabilities. Due to the current landscape, plan sponsors are more cognizant of the prospect of being sued for not adhering to fiduciary standards. Similarly, it’s hard to keep up with government regulations and the changing rules. Using the services of a licensed plan adviser can help fulfill these obligations and ensure that you’re acting in your employees’ best interests in addition to keeping your plan up to date and compliant.
- You aren’t sure how to boost employee participation in your company’s plan. Offering a top-notch retirement plan won’t do much to attract and retain great talent if your employees aren’t aware of the plan or its benefits. A retirement plan consultant’s experience encompasses not only the establishment of a quality retirement plan, but the marketing of the plan to those who can most benefit from it.
- You don’t have the time, energy or expertise to devote to maintaining a compliant retirement plan. Retirement plans require ongoing attention. Wading through plan documents, comparing fees from various providers, and monitoring investment funds can be far more time-consuming than any plan sponsor can anticipate. If it’s important to you to offer your employees a thoughtful retirement plan, but you just aren’t sure that you can manage it along with your day-to-day, a retirement plan consultant can help.
Work With a Registered Investment Adviser
Managing a retirement plan is not an easy task. Considering the fiduciary risks and responsibilities, administrative requirements, coordination of meetings and commitment to employees’ retirement readiness, hiring a retirement plan consultant may just be the best option for your plan.
Are you ready to speak to a retirement plan consultant? We would be happy to assist! Enlisting the help of a qualified retirement plan consultant is beneficial to plan sponsors and their plan participants. As an independent Registered Investment Advisor, PlanPILOT is not tied to any investment fund or record-keeper. We offer clients unbiased advice and assistance to control their retirement plan risks and deliver benefits effectively. Contact us at (312) 973-4911 or info@planpilot.com.
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