In today’s labor market, like never before, maintaining a robust, high quality retirement plan is crucial to keeping your brightest and best talent. And in doing so, your Retirement Plan Governance Committee should strive to have in place a solid fiduciary process. Compass Investment Services (a division of State Bank) has a commitment to helping businesses like yours maintain a top-flight 401k retirement savings program. Having a retirement plan that meets your employees’ needs is vital to keeping them with you and it gives them financial peace of mind.
Recently, Fidelity released its annual “Plan Sponsor Attitudes Survey.” There were some interesting nuggets within the report. For example:
- A major theme was that employers desire to be more active and engaged with their plan to benefit employees. This is good!
- 88% of sponsor employers are planning to make changes in 2022
- 47% of sponsors are considering an advisor change. An all-time high.
- 57% initiated a financial wellness program in the past two years.
- 48% are considering a change of recordkeeper
Obviously, this signals that the attitude of employers is focusing on their awareness of the importance of their retirement plan and its role in employee satisfaction.
The survey also underscored that a whopping 51% of employers were looking for more counsel from their advisor on ways to improve their plan performance.
So much of these attitudes by Chief Financial Officers and Human Resource Officers underscores their concern as to if they are “getting it right.” In addition to having a sound fiduciary governance strategy to be prepared for a Department of Labor audit, should that happen, centers around setting forth “Best Practices” in five key areas.
- Fiduciary Governance. Making certain that your governing Plan Documents are compliant and up to date with IRS guidelines is an ongoing task.
- Investment Options. A continual “policing” of your investment options, assuring that they are performing in the upper echelon provides employees the tools needed to save well.
- Plan Related Documents. It is vital to make certain the legal Plan Document is up to date with IRS requirements. And it is also important that your Summary Plan Description is current.
- Education. Employee education to help each of your staff make good decisions is an ongoing task that that can make a real difference in outcomes. Often, unfortunately, this is out of sight/out of mind and is missed on a consistent basis.
- Expenses. Last, but certainly not least, is Plan expenses. If the Plan Sponsor is not cognizant of keeping expenses low, the fees charged will erode the performance of the individual’s account over time.
It is somewhat a daunting task to stay on top of all these areas. And for most employers, it almost seems a headache when so many important things vie for a leader’s attention. What is a CEO, a CFO, or and HR Director to do? Well, having a strategic partner that can assist in all these areas in a comprehensive way can save a leader time and take a lot off their plate as it relates to maintaining a quality, compliant 401(k) retirement plan.
Where is a good starting place to know how to move forward to a place of confidence in your retirement plan? Asking for a complimentary Diagnostic Profile will give you insights on how to capture Best Practices for your retirement plan. The Diagnostic Profile is a confidential deep evaluation into your 401k retirement plan. The process is undertaken with the expertise of our strategic partner, Retirement Plan Analytics, an industry leader in Best Practices for employers desiring to dial in their 401k retirement plan with quality for the benefit of their employees. By so doing, you create a better benefit that can help maintain employee satisfaction.
Jeff Jenness
Senior Vice President
Compass Investment Services (a division of State Bank)
(317)858-6190
State Bank is a Platinum Investor with One Zone Chamber of Commerce
The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual or corporate situation. Some of this material was developed and produced by our third-party partners. To provide information on a topic that may be of interest. The opinions expressed and material provided are for general information and should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security.
Securities and advisory services offered through Retirement Plan Analytics (RPA), a registered investment advisor. Member FINRA & SIPC. The services provided by Retirement Plan Analytics are not insured deposits and are not FDIC insured. These services are not obligations of and are not endorsed, recommended or guaranteed by a government agency. The value of the retirement plan assets being advised by RPA may fluctuate, the return on the investment is not guaranteed, and loss of principal is possible.
State Bank and Compass Investment Services are not registered broker/dealers and are not affiliated with Retirement Plan Analytics.
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