Plan Operations

The work we do for clients extends far beyond investment reviews.  We work with you on your plan as a whole to ensure plans are compliant, consistent with compensation philosophy, and continually improving.

• Administrative Oversight
  As part of our Annual Fiduciary Program, we hold an administrative review and strategy in the first quarter to ensure that all required compliance items are completed. This meeting's goal is to cover items that do not require action from the full committee beyond notice that they were completed. It also provides the opportunity to review the vendor's participant education and communication strategy and develop strategic goals for the full committee to review.
  There are three areas of review for the meeting:
  • Plan Administration
  • Vendor Update

  • Strategic Goals

  Download an overview of our Annual Fiduciary Program.
• Plan Design
  Addressing the reasons for sponsoring your plan is essential for structuring it appropriately to meet those objectives. We work with you to define your plan’s purpose and design it accordingly, for example:
  • How does it fit within your total compensation philosophy?
  • Will it be used for employee retention or as a talent incentivization tool?
  • Would you like for it to be competitive versus others in your industry?
  • Are you considering it a mechanism for tax-efficient savings?
  This ensures that the plan effectively meets your objectives while enhancing participant outcomes.
• Employee Communications
  Each year, we evaluate the plan's employee communication and education strategy. We help our clients ensure their communication and education strategies:
  • Deliver clear, customized information
  • Enhance understanding and participation
  • Foster a financially secure workforce
• Plan Forward
  Our Plan Forward strategy is designed to continually enhance your plan over time—never allowing ourselves to just “go through the motions.” We build on the foundation built from our Annual Fiduciary Program, ensuring continuous improvement each year. This proactive approach enhances your plan annually, positioning participants better for retirement each year.
  • Download an overview of our Plan Forward strategy.
  • Read our guide on retirement plan committee best practices to learn how having a Plan Forward outlook is a foundation to create good governance that establishes goals, tracks the impact of changes, and continually move towards the previously articulated goals in a measurable way. 

Fiduciary Resources

Alongside our services designed to assist plan sponsors with their fiduciary responsibilities, we create and share resources throughout the year to help you manage the challenges associated with your retirement plan benefit programs.

 

	Retirement Plan Committee Best Practices Each time the retirement plan committee meets, does it feel like there is a new rule or legislation your plan is required to comply with? At the same time, participants are demanding more of you and your organization to be successful because the defined contribution plan is likely the only savings vehicle these individuals will ever have for retirement? If these feelings resonate with you, so will the committee best practices we discuss in this guide. Download the guide.
	Plan Design and Oversight Client Case Study This case study spotlights our retirement plan review process. The goal of this is to improve investment performance, reduce plan expenses and improve participant outcomes. The employer’s leadership team recognized that this was a process that would impact both their oversight committee and their employees but knew that changes and improvements could be made. When it comes to 401(k) and 403(b) retirement plan governance, incremental change is often required to achieve the desired outcome. That was the case with this plan as there were several steps occurring over several years as our team and the plan sponsor worked to have a more modern retirement plan. Download our plan design and oversight case study.