ERISA and Retirement Plan Info
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Recent Posts
- Supreme Court Examines “Meaningful Benchmarks” in Intel Case
- Nobody likes paying to fix someone else’s mistake. I certainly don’t. If a retirement plan provider gives bad instructions, misses an eligibility date, or mishandles information, a plan sponsor has every reason to ask why it happened and who will pay. But asking those questions doesn’t correct the plan. I’ve seen situations where everyone becomes so focused on assigning blame that the actual problem sits there. The sponsor blames the TPA. The TPA blames payroll. Payroll says it followed instructions. Meanwhile, the participant is still missing money, and nobody has agreed on what happens next. Being right about fault doesn’t make the delay useful. The first task is to establish the facts. What went wrong? Which participants and years are affected? What records are needed? Then get qualified guidance on the correction and establish who will complete each step. You can pursue reimbursement while that work proceeds. Document the provider’s instructions, preserve the correspondence, and review the service agreement. If the provider caused the problem, ask for a written explanation and a proposal for addressing its share of the cost. Just don’t make the participant’s correction depend on winning an argument between businesses. That doesn’t mean accepting every demand from a provider or writing a blank check. A proposed correction should be explained and supported. The sponsor needs to understand what it is approving. But refusing to engage because “this wasn’t our fault” usually makes the situation harder to resolve. A plan sponsor hired providers because it needed assistance. When that assistance fails, the sponsor still needs to coordinate a response and make sure the work gets done. Hold the provider accountable. Seek reimbursement when appropriate. Replace them if the relationship warrants it. But keep the correction moving. You can argue over the bill without leaving the plan’s problem sitting untouched.
- The Provider’s Mistake Still Requires Your Attention
- Your Best Employee Shouldn’t Be Your Entire Business
- Stop Making Your Office Manager the Accidental Retirement Expert
Recent Comments
- John O'Reilly on You Might Be Gold, But They May Not See It
- Dale F. Smith on “Experienced” Plan Provider can mean a lot of things
- Steve on Make a sure a plan provider change is for the right reason and not to make someone $$$$$
- Dale F. Smith on Yale Law Professor scares 6K Plan Sponsors and everyone missed the point
- Sherry Gensemer on The High Fee Open MEP becomes a High Fee MEAP
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JDSupra
Categories
Category Archives: 401(k) Plans
10 Basic Retirement Plan Concepts That Every Plan Sponsor Should Understand
My latest JDSupra.com article can be found here.
Posted in 401(k) Plans, Retirement Plans
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ERISA 3(38) Fiduciaries and Buying Groceries
When the great Bill Parcells (go Big Blue!) was the head coach of the New England Patriots, he got into a tiff with owner Robert Kraft because Parcells wanted more of a say in the personnel decision making process. Parcells … Continue reading
Posted in 401(k) Plans, Retirement Plans
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Retirement Plan Industry predictions for 2012
Some of my predictions have come true (I knew the IPad would be a big hit) and some have not (I thought Amazon.com was crazy to sell stuff besides books, music, and DVDs). However, that doesn’t stop me from making … Continue reading
Posted in 401(k) Plans, Retirement Plans
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Another 10 Major Misconceptions Plan Sponsors Have About Their Retirement Plans
My latest JDSupra.com article can be found here.
Posted in 401(k) Plans, Retirement Plans
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Rules for Retirement Plan Providers to Live By
Like Newman in Seinfeld, I’m not a big fan of creeds. However, I am a big fan of rules that sound like creeds. Here is a list I have developed on rules that retirement plan providers should live by. This … Continue reading
Posted in 401(k) Plans, Retirement Plans
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Advisors Advantage
My latest newsletter can be found here.
Posted in 401(k) Plans, Retirement Plans
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How Financial Advisors Can Use Business Lessons Learned From the Life of Steve Jobs to Help Build Their Retirement Plan Practice
My latest JDSupra.com article can be found here.
Posted in 401(k) Plans, Retirement Plans
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Safe Harbor 401(k): Pro-Active vs. Re-Active
The safe harbor notice deadline for calendar year 401(k) plans is December 1. This notice is one of the requirements for a plan to be a safe harbor, in addition to the fully vested contribution that gives 401(k) plans a … Continue reading
Posted in 401(k) Plans, Retirement Plans
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The Beauty of ERISA 3(38) Fiduciaries and 2 Minor Concerns
One of the most positive developments in the retirement plan business is the ERISA §3(38) fiduciary. The idea that a plan sponsor can shift almost all of their liability in the fiduciary process to an ERISA defined investment manager is … Continue reading
Posted in 401(k) Plans, Retirement Plans
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The Rosenbaum Law Firm Review
My latest newsletter can be found here.
Posted in 401(k) Plans, Retirement Plans
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