A Request for Proposal (RFP) does more than help a plan sponsor select service providers for different aspects of their plan. RFPs also help meet the requirements under ERISA §404(a)(1), to act in the best interests of the plan participants and to document the methodology used to establish a process…
Posts Tagged: Fiduciary
All You Need is Love — and Updated Beneficiary Designations
by Kathy Duffy, on 02.15.2016Every year when Valentine’s Day comes around, we spend time thinking about how much our loved ones mean to us. We also spend a lot of money to show them how valuable their love is to us: more than $1 billion on candy and sweets; nearly $2 billion on flowers,…
How Does Your Retirement Plan Compare? Why Benchmarking is Important.
by Kathy Duffy, on 01.15.2016benchmark (noun) \bench-märk\ Something that serves as a standard by which others may be measured or judged. Benchmarking is common in the financial industry as a means of gauging progress or measuring success. Investment performance is often benchmarked against a financial market index, such as the S&P 500. The skill…
401(k) 2015 Year in Review
by Kathy Duffy, on 01.06.2016Retirement plan rule changes often don’t make waves beyond our corner of the business world, but in 2015 they made national headlines. The problem of excessive fees for retirement plan investments and advice garnered more attention last year, not only with the pending rule changes around fiduciary responsibilities but also…
Novant “Cuts Their Losses” to the Tune of $32 Million
by Kathy Duffy, on 12.11.2015It’s become a familiar story in the retirement benefits industry—a company comes under fire for excessive fees charged to its retirement plan, and plan sponsors face class action lawsuits for failing to act in the interests of the plan’s participants. More often than not, these stories don’t end well for…