Category Archives: Retirement Plans

One of my biggest complaints about the retirement plan industry is when a service provider gets hired to perform one job and then discovers another way to make money off the relationship. Participant data is becoming the latest example. A … Continue reading →

Every time Bitcoin spikes, you can almost set your watch to what happens next in the 401(k) world. People start talking about cryptocurrency in retirement plans. Again. Participants see Bitcoin going through the roof and wonder why they can’t invest … Continue reading →

Mistakes happen in the retirement plan business. I’ve been doing this long enough to know that perfection isn’t a realistic standard. What bothers me is when the plan sponsor repeatedly discovers the mistakes. A census gets uploaded incorrectly. An eligibility … Continue reading →

One of the most frustrating experiences for a retirement plan sponsor is being bounced around between departments. That’s a recordkeeping issue. That’s a TPA issue. You need payroll. That’s handled by distributions. Talk to your relationship manager. Nobody cares about … Continue reading →

One thing plan sponsors need to understand about a 401(k) plan is that it has a very long memory. Employees leave. Human resources people leave. Payroll companies change. TPAs get fired. Recordkeepers get replaced. The company may even be sold. … Continue reading →

Getting a new retirement plan client is exciting. There is the proposal, the presentation, the promises about service, technology, responsiveness, and how everything will be better than what the plan sponsor has today. Everyone is on their best behavior because … Continue reading →

There is an old saying that the customer is always right. When it comes to a retirement plan, the owner isn’t always right. I’ve dealt with enough plan sponsors over the years to know that business owners are used to … Continue reading →

Plan sponsors sign a lot of paperwork when it comes to their 401(k) plan. Plan documents. Amendments. Recordkeeping agreements. Investment paperwork. Payroll authorizations. TPA agreements. My advice is pretty simple: don’t sign something you don’t understand. One area where this … Continue reading →

There are certain problems in life where waiting might actually help. Late 401(k) deposits aren’t one of them. Employee salary deferrals are plan assets once they’re withheld from employees’ paychecks and are required to be deposited into the plan on … Continue reading →

One of the biggest sources of confusion for 401(k) plan sponsors is figuring out who is actually responsible for what. You have a financial advisor. You have a TPA. You have a recordkeeper. Maybe you have an ERISA attorney. Everybody … Continue reading →