Category Archives: Retirement Plans

For decades the advisor sales pitch sounded like a broken record: better funds, better performance, better returns. The problem is that every advisor says the same thing, and in a world of index funds and target-date glidepaths, “better investments” isn’t … Continue reading →

Running a 401(k) plan isn’t just about picking a fund lineup and hoping employees save enough for retirement. It’s about process, documentation, and proving that you acted like a prudent fiduciary even when markets misbehave. I always tell plan sponsors … Continue reading →

Too many employers talk about their 401(k) plan the way they talk about free coffee in the break room—as a perk, a nice extra, something to mention in the benefits brochure and forget about until renewal season. That mindset misses … Continue reading →

I’ve walked into more companies than I can count where the 401(k) plan gets the same level of attention as the office copier—nobody thinks about it until it breaks. The copier jams, people complain, someone calls the vendor, and life … Continue reading →

Every few years, someone in Washington rediscovers the 401(k) and decides it should be used for something other than retirement. This time, it’s housing. The latest proposal floating around would allow people to tap their 401(k) accounts—penalty-free—to fund a home … Continue reading →

When companies talk about mergers and acquisitions, the conversation usually revolves around tax treatment, valuation, and deal structure. What often gets overlooked—until it’s too late—is the 401(k) plan. From a retirement plan perspective, the difference between an asset sale and … Continue reading →

Most 401(k) problems don’t start in the plan. They start in payroll. Plan sponsors tend to think of payroll as an administrative function and the 401(k) as a separate benefits issue. That separation is convenient—but it’s also wrong. Payroll is … Continue reading →

I started my own practice almost sixteen years ago because I was tired of working for other people. Not because I couldn’t work for others—but because too many of the places I worked were mismanaged, short-sighted, and transactional when it … Continue reading →

As a retirement plan attorney, I can tell you this with certainty: TPAs are rarely sued because they miscalculated a contribution by a few dollars. Math errors happen. The industry knows how to fix them. Lawsuits don’t come from arithmetic—they … Continue reading →

The retirement plan industry loves to talk about value, but it keeps pricing itself as if value doesn’t matter. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the constant race to the bottom on provider fees. TPAs, recordkeepers, and bundled providers … Continue reading →