Author Archives: admin

Some of the biggest 401(k) problems start with something that seemed completely insignificant. A new payroll code. A change in an employee’s classification. A new bonus program. A new company. A change in ownership. A new payroll provider. None of … Continue reading →

Plan sponsors sometimes assume their retirement plan providers somehow know everything that is happening inside their company. They don’t. Your TPA, recordkeeper, adviser, and attorney only know what you tell them. That becomes a problem when something important changes and … Continue reading →

One of the most common problems I see with retirement plans is that the plan sponsor says, “That’s not what we meant.” Unfortunately, your plan document doesn’t know what you meant. It only knows what it says. A plan sponsor … Continue reading →

The retirement plan business has a memory problem. Something goes wrong. Everyone gets upset. Meetings are held. Procedures are changed. New safeguards are created. Everyone promises that the mistake will never happen again. Five years later, nobody remembers why the … Continue reading →

Every retirement plan provider will tell you they have procedures. They have checklists. They have workflows. They have manuals. Some have hundreds of pages of procedures explaining how everything is supposed to get done. That is wonderful, except when nobody … Continue reading →

One of the biggest mistakes a retirement plan provider can make is trying too hard to please every client. I understand why it happens. A client asks for something special and you want to accommodate them. Maybe they want reports … Continue reading →

For years, private equity and other private market investments were largely the playground of wealthy investors, institutions, and defined benefit plans. That is starting to change. A recent Invesco survey of defined contribution plan participants found that employees are surprisingly … Continue reading →

Most 401(k) plan problems do not start in a conference room. They start in payroll. The payroll department controls much of the information that determines whether the plan operates correctly. Compensation, deferral elections, eligibility dates, bonuses, overtime, commissions, ownership information, … Continue reading →

The retirement plan industry loves talking about the future. Artificial intelligence. Managed accounts. Financial wellness. Personalized participant experiences. Predictive analytics. Enhanced cybersecurity. Better mobile apps. There is always another product that is going to revolutionize the 401(k) plan. Meanwhile, the … Continue reading →

One of the most common things I hear when a retirement plan problem is discovered is, “Nobody told us.” The recordkeeper never mentioned it. The TPA never explained it. The adviser never brought it up. That may explain how the … Continue reading →