A Guide For 401(k) Plan Sponsors
You need to be working with a best-in-class, experienced 401(k) team.
Most prudent plan sponsors hire a best-in-class team to help them offer a retirement plan that best meets the needs of their employees and their company and adhere to rigorous ERISA standards.
Who You Need on Your Team
- Financial Advisor
- Third Party Administrator
- Custodian and Record Keeper
It is your responsibility to hire the experts. TruNorth Investment Management has extensive experience with 401(k) plans and we work with the top TPA Firms, and trusted, nationally recognized record keepers and custodians.
FINANCIAL ADVISOR- YOUR QUARTERBACK AND GUIDE
The financial advisor on your plan is the relationship lead and coordinator who understands and implements your company’s current objectives while navigating the intricacies of what needs to be done and when, in order to keep the plan in compliance and running smoothly. Working with a competent, experienced advisor can help you clean up your plan, moving former employees which may reduce your fees and your potential liability.
Your Advisor is Responsible for:
- Conducting Benchmarking
- Overseeing plan document revision
- Updating investments
- Conducting education meetings
- Assist you in keeping your plan in compliance
THE REST OF THE TEAM
Third Party Administrator (TPA)
Your TPA is responsible for:
- Designing retirement plan documents
- Preparing employer plan level benefit statements
- Ensuring the plan is in compliance with the IRS non-discrimination requirements
- Preparing annual returns and reports required by IRS, DOL or other government agencies
- Keeping up with changes in the retirement plan industry, best practices, compliance, and other administration tasks. 401(k) and other retirement benefit plans can be highly technical field.
- Following the rules of qualified plans that are quite intricate and require important mathematical calculations called compliance testing to ensure your retirement plan does not discriminate against non-highly compensated employees
Custodian and Record Keeper
Your Custodian: acts as the bank, they physically hold and safe-keep the assets and provide the platform for investments.
Your Record Keeper: the bookkeeper of the 401(k) plan, the job of the record keeper is to track who’s in the plan, what investments they own, and what money is going in or out. The Record Keeper:
- Processes employee enrollment
- Manages and tracks employee investments
- Logs the origins of the contributions
- Manages and records 401(k) loans and hardship withdrawals
- Issues account statements to particpants
- Provides customer support
- Provides web-based support for employees to access and make changes online to investments, beneficiaries, and contributions
A Guide for 401(k) Plan Sponsors
A good 401(k) plan attracts top talent, builds high performance teams, and increases employee retention.
Benchmarking Your Plan
Having a knowledgeable 401(k) advisor benchmark your plan is one of the easiest and most beneficial actions you can take as the plan sponsor.
When Plans Get in Trouble
Knowing about common mistakes and how to avoid them can keep your plan on track and your company out of trouble.