We evaluate your existing plan including provider, features, and investment options to ensure that your company is providing a valuable and competitive benefit to your employees.

If you are implementing a plan for the first time, we can work with you to identify what is important and help locate a provider that aligns itself with your specific needs. There are several considerations you need to understand before you implement a plan. Knowing what is ahead can save you lots of time, money and frustration.

Most advisors have a short list of providers they have elected to work with or they are only allowed to use alliance partners that provide soft dollar compensation to their company . We instead scour the marketplace to find the right fit for your company and can work with virtually any provider in the marketplace. We will identify the service providers whose solutions match your company’s needs and work closely with your company's various stakeholders to consider the different options and make the appropriate selection.

If you are just starting to implement a plan or looking to change, how are you going find that provider that is right for you? Many employers go online and search for that magic fit hoping to find a vendor that can address their needs. The marketplace is always changing and pricing is negotiated, so if this is not your full-time job, how can you expect to find the right fit? Let us put our years of experience to work for you, effectively becoming your retirement plan department.

We are your advocate and provide assistance during the entire conversion and implementation process. If you do decide to select a new provider, we will be there to shepard the entire process. We will provide assistance during plan document review meetings, implementation planning, and conversion. We will manage the entire conversion process for you so you don’t have to.

How does your plan compare to other plans offered by companies of similar size and industry? Understand how your plan compares to other plans in your industry can go a long way to attracting and retaining employees. There are a number of reasons why benchmarking is beneficial to you:

1. It can help you comply with the law and meet your fiduciary obligations
2. It can help employers justify the 'reasonableness' of plan fees as required under 408(b)(2)
3. It can help you gauge the efficiency of your plan and see if the fees you are paying are in line with their peer group
4. Benchmarking can help you stay prudent and prepared, in the event of a DOL audit. Per the DOL, the prudent fiduciary determines the fee reasonableness by looking at not only the fee being paid, but also examining the quantity and the quality of the services received by the plan and their participants.
5. Benchmarking can connect fees to the value of services received. Not all plans are created equal. Different plans have different needs. If a plan is more complex, it can cost more to administer. Benchmarking can help you justify the costs by focusing on the value of the services provided to a plan.
6. Benchmarking helps improve the retirement readiness. Ultimately, a plan delivers value as long as it improves the retirement readiness. Benchmarking helps you explain the variables that have the most impact on retirement readiness thus preparing participants for successful retirement outcomes.

Benchmarking can provide an employer with valuable plan specific information. Call us to see how we can help initiate this process for you.

A retirement plan's design has a profound impact on its effectiveness. Design can also influence whether or not a company and its employees meet their long-term goals.

We work with our clients to make sure their document is specifically crafted to reflect how they want to run the plan. We also help our clients craft procedures that ensure they operate the plan within the boundaries of their document and we monitor the plan and procedures for compliance.

For new clients, we provide a compliance review of their documents and make suggestions where necessary. Catching and fixing out of date or poorly crafted document can save you time and money. Don't wait until the DOL comes knocking to address any document issues, at that point it's too late.

Plan sponsors have a hands-on fiduciary obligation to monitor investments and investment providers to determine their suitability for inclusion in the plan. Further, they should establish procedures for ongoing selection and monitoring of investment offerings. We analyze all investment options to help ensure that there is adequate representation of investment categories for your participants and that the quality of those investment are in line with the requirements set out in your Investment Policy Statement.

From initial transition to problem resolution, we can represent your interests as an advocate in interactions with plan providers and record keepers. We will monitor your plan on a monthly basis and have regular communication with the people responsible for administrating your plan. We oversee every aspect of your plan and stay in touch with you so we can help address any problems or concerns you might have.

Sponsors are often in the dark about the “true” cost of their retirement plan, unknowingly accepting higher fees or being unaware of lower-cost options. Plan sponsors must educate themselves and there are consequences for failing to conduct periodic reviews of plan costs. Fiduciaries can be held liable for plan and participant losses if a court concludes that the plan paid unreasonable fees. We routinely monitor plan fees to make sure your plan costs are reasonable. This means you don't have to spend your time researching and benchmarking plan costs.

In their audits, not only does the DOL want to see how much you pay for provider and advisor services, but also what to know what services you receive for that payment and is what you paid for the services rendered reasonable. If the answer is no...get out your checkbook!

An employer can offer the best plan possible, but if the plan's benefits are not communicated effectively to your employees, the plan will not succeed for either party. We will customize a participant education plan that addresses your employees’ needs, helping them gain a better understand of the plan and inspire them to take action. We help participants understand the benefits of their retirement plan and how to properly use it to achieve successful outcomes.

We use these six principals when developing a communication plan:

1. Understand you audience:

We will analyze your organization's demographics and put ourselves in your employee's shoes to better understand their perspective. We move away from using industry terminology and try to address employees in a way they can relate to.

2. Clearly define the communication challenges:

We will work to identify opportunities for improving participant's satisfaction with the plan. We can provide assistance for participants who want more investment guidance or education seminars for employees who want a deeper understanding on a particular topic.

3. Develop integrated plan solutions

Effective communication is not a standalone solution but one aspect within a web of tools that include plan design and investment options. For instance, if plan participation is stagnant, we can recommend solutions that can address that specific issue and develop a strategy on how to communicate any plan enhancements to participants.

4. Select effective messages:

As we identify a communication problem, we can create short and simple messages that directly address that issue. We can repeat these messages for added impact, because communicating effectively is a year-round process and not limited to one event.

5. Reinforce the message across all channels:

Repeating a message across different channels, such as account statements, online and print. increases the likelihood your employees will hear it and respond accordingly.

6. Measure results:

It is critical to measure the effect of your participation communication campaign with the goal of improving your plan's performance. We can track your plan's participation and deferral rate to gauge how well your communication campaign moved the dial.

We can also effectively communicate your plan in any number of ways based on your specific needs. We can provide enrollment meetings using web-based, group or one-on-one enrollment meetings. We also have available foreign language enrollers if needed.

During subsequent enrollment meetings, we will help increase employee awareness, suggest options for better outcomes, explain investment basic and help participants explore appropriate asset allocation.

Most participants do not know how a retirement plan works let alone how to invest their money. How can anyone expect them to make good investment decisions if they don't even know the basics. We provide education at all levels and guide participants through the steps necessary to make informed decisions. We routinely provide classes in a number of different areas (brown bag lunch seminars) so participants can increase their understanding and comfort level.

We keep you apprised of all legislative updates and how any new laws will impact your plan. In addition, we will a full legislative impact assessment on your plan with recommended tailored solutions and develop a compliance action plan and ensure that implementation of any changes aligns with your strategic goals.

We monitor your plan on a monthly basis and work with you to help resolve any issues that may arise. We are there to handle any problems that may arise, taking those issues away from you and reporting back once they have been resolved....let us help.

Just because you have a bond in place does not mean it meets the requirements…and if you don’t have a bond that’s a problem all on its own. There are several aspects of a bond that are reviewed during a DOL audit. Have you looked at you bond to make sure it passes all the requirements of Section 412? If not, we can help.

We routinely work with our larger plans and shift many of the audit requirements to our firm, thus relieving you of the time consuming task of an audit. We can help with everything from:

1. The selection of your auditor
2. Reducing audit fees (We can reduce audit cost by up to 50% and for some even more!)
3. Compiling documents
4. Answering auditor's questions
5. Review and comment on the auditor's report before it is final

Submitting payroll records to your new provider can be time consuming and confusing. We are there to work with you providers to make the process easier for you. We can even recommend payroll providers that will work directly with your provider so all you have to do is enter payroll in your payroll system and that’s it!

Employers should have an annual employee meeting at least annually with a large number offering meetings semi-annually.

Many participants do not want to ask questions during a group meeting. We will stay and meet participants one-on-one until all issues are addressed. We are available to come back and meet with participants throughout the year as necessary.

Many participants do not want to ask questions during a group meeting. We will stay and meet participants one-on-one until all issues are addressed. We are available to come back and meet with participants throughout the year as necessary.

You don’t always have time to sit down with participants and go over all the aspects of the plan, enrollment documents and give assistance allocating their account. We are here to help guide the participant through the enrollment process. Since many of the concepts and terms are new to them, we make it a practice of giving as much time as necessary to make sure those participants that want it get the attention they need.

Plan rollovers or transfers (for non-profit plans) can be difficult at times. We guide participants through every step of the process and work with them to make sure the proper form are fill out correctly. Ever get a rollover booklet with several different forms? We step in and work with the participant on a one-on-one basis to make sure the forms are filled out correctly and the check goes where it is supposed to.

The transfer process for 403(b) plans is made to be difficult. Non-profits have it especially difficult due to the nature of the investment offered in the plan (individual annuity contracts). We can structure a program so participants have an easier time transferring their funds to another investment in the plan.

We have many seminars that can be given as brown bag lunchtime presentations so participants can increase their knowledge and comfort level.

We all know problems occur. If you have to make two calls on an issue, the second one should be to us! You have better things to do with your time, like running your business. We know retirement plans inside and out...and we speak the language. We pride ourselves in going that extra mile for our employers and their employees. Let us step in and resolve the issue for you.

So, what makes you a fiduciary? ERISA defines a fiduciary as anyone who:

• Exercises any discretionary authority or control over the management of a plan or over management or disposition of plan assets
• Renders investment advice for compensation or has authority or responsibility to do so
• Has any discretionary authority or discretionary responsibility in the administration of the plan
• is named in the plan document as a named fiduciary

Trustees and fiduciaries are not only liable for their own actions, but also for the actions of others associated with the plan if they knowingly conceal a breach or do not attempt to remedy a problem. We routinely meet with the trustee and all fiduciaries to make sure the plan is being operated correctly.

Many people are fiduciaries and don't' even know it. If you are a fiduciary, do you know your liability? There is nothing wrong with being a fiduciary, just know your liability and how to properly manage it. If you need help understanding your exposure, we are here and can help you manage or reduce that risk.

The Department of Labor (DOL) audits retirement plans. These audits can be a little scary and intimidating. We routinely help our client through the process and sit by their side during the in person interview the DOL holds with all employers they audit. We help gather documents and are there to answer questions asked by the DOL investigator. We are there to protect your interest and make sure your plan receives a fair assessment. If problems are found, we will work with you to remedy them and install a process so those issues will not return.

This is one of the top if not the top problem facing retirement plans today. Transmitting deferrals later than 7 days is not just a problem for participants because their money is not working for them, but it is a reportable deficiency on your 5500. The DOL targets plans that have late deferrals and it's almost a guarantee DOL audit. Stopping the problem before it happens is one of our top goals. If you do have late deposits, we can help you. There are many ways to combat this problem including using the DOL correction program.

Employers are tasked with monitoring investment expenses and performance, a task they are usually not well suited to perform. We monitor your platform to make sure your investments are performing within the limits of your Investment Policy Statement (IPS). If an investment ever fails the criteria set forth in the IPS, we will make recommendations for its replacement and assist with the replacement process.

Making sure your document is up to date and constructed to reflect how you run the plan is critical. We review your plan document on an ongoing basis to make sure you stay in compliance and operate the plan as detailed in your document.

This is one area where most employers fail to follow the requirements and it is also an area the DOL covers during their investigation. Failure to send required notices can be costly to the employer. We will work with you to make sure you have a program in place so that all required notices go out on time.

Occasionally an employer many need the assistance of an ERISA attorney. For basic questions and situations, we have access to many ERISA attorneys that will answer your specific question at no charge. For more involved situations, we can assist you retain an ERISA attorney that can provide assistance on your project at a reasonable rate.

404(c) offers employers a safe harbor against employee lawsuits if they follow certain procedures. We review your procedures to make sure you are in compliance with 404(c) and thus afforded this important protection.

Not all plan expenses can be paid by the plan. We instruct our client on just what can and cannot be paid from plan assets. We will review your cost structure and monitor plan expenses on an ongoing basis, helping you stay in compliance.