Navigating Your Fiduciary Responsibility: Tips for Maximizing Your 401(k) Plan

Navigating Your Fiduciary Responsibility: Tips for Maximizing Your 401(k) Plan

As a plan sponsor, you play a crucial role in managing your company’s 401(k) plan to ensure that it benefits your employees’ retirement savings. However, it’s also essential to understand that you have a fiduciary responsibility to manage the plan in the best interests of the participants. Failure to do so can lead to legal and financial consequences.

Three Areas of Risk to Focus On

Proper due diligence of your plan helps you avoid the “Three F’s” – Funds, Fees, and Fiduciary Responsibility.

1. Funds: Offer Diverse Investment Options
   It’s your duty to offer a variety of investment options that are suitable for your employees. Ensure that your plan includes a range of investment options and the proper share classes to avoid breach of fiduciary duty.
2. Fees: Keep Fees Reasonable
   401(k) plans can come with high fees that eat into employees’ retirement savings. As a plan sponsor, it’s your responsibility to ensure that the fees charged to the plan are reasonable. Regularly benchmark your plan fees to reduce your fiduciary risk and liability.
3. Fiduciary Responsibility: Monitor Your Plan
   Continuously monitor your plan to ensure it meets the needs of your employees. Failure to do so could result in legal and financial consequences for you personally and for your company. Regularly assess your plan’s health and make necessary changes to keep it aligned with your employees’ needs.

Work with Qualified Retirement Plan Experts: Newcleus Makes it Easy

Qualified Plan experts are essential for ensuring proper fiduciary oversight and support to manage your company’s 401(k) plan. At Newcleus, we offer a complimentary plan analysis to identify any areas that require improvement and provide specific recommendations for you to consider. If you decide a change of advisor is right for you, you can do so without any disruption to your plan participants and platforms. In a matter of just a few days, you will have access to a range of Newcleus advisory services to help you manage your plan effectively and meet compliance regulations.

Newcleus Retirement Advisors will also assist in the research of other provider options if you are unhappy with your current one.

Range of Services

• Plan Design Analysis & Benchmarking
• Investment Selection Support & Monitoring
• Fiduciary Governance Support & Documentation
• Investment Policy Statement Support
• Thorough Committee Minutes
• Investment Cost Monitoring
• Quarterly Fiduciary Investment Review
• Vendor Search & Selection Support Processes
• Plan Conversion Implementation Support
• Provider Oversight Support & Benchmarking
• Document Retention for Audit Purposes
• 3(21) or 3(38) Fiduciary Support
• Custom Asset Allocation Solutions
• Committee Fiduciary Education
• Participant Education
• Operational Plan Support
• Plan Audit Support

Summary

By offering diverse investment options, keeping fees reasonable, and monitoring your plan, you can fulfill your fiduciary responsibility and mitigate the common risks associated with sponsoring a 401(k) plan. Newcleus experts can analyze your current plan, make specific recommendations to improve it and provide the ongoing support needed to ensure it continues to meet the needs of your employees.

Schedule a complimentary plan analysis with us today to fulfill your fiduciary responsibility with confidence.