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401(k) Options That Must Be Obligatory For Plan Sponsors.
They need to be obligatory.
 Buying a car isn't easy because it's confusing with the different option packages and trims. Sometimes I jokingly ask whether a steering wheel comes standard or whether it's an option for a more expensive package. For a 401(k) plan sponsor, there are a lot of options out there and while some features are options, it's my opinions that some options need to be obligatory. So this article is 401(k) plan options that need to be compulsory for plan sponsors to select.
For the article, click here.
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Important Tasks That Many 401(k) Plan Sponsors Ignore.
They can't be forgotten about.
When I was a kid, there were advertising campaigns that advised people to check their blood pressure because it's always a great barometer of one's health. When I was a teenager, the campaign with blood pressure was so successful, they eventually started a campaign for people to find out their cholesterol level. I have to say that as an ERISA for 20 years, I have been part of a retirement plan industry that has stressed the need for 401(k) plan sponsors to understand their fiduciary duties as plan sponsors and the need to take care of certain tasks. That campaign has been a little successful, yet there are just too many tasks that 401(k) plan sponsors don't complete and which puts them in harm's way. This article is about the tasks that plan sponsors should complete, but many don't.
To read the article, please click here.
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When A 401(k) Plan Sponsor May Have To Fire Their Advisor.
It might come to that.
 For most 401(k) plan sponsors, it's the financial advisor that serves as their ombudsman. They're usually the provider that the plan sponsor relies on most to provide referrals to other providers such as third-party administrators (TPAs) and to help out when things aren't going so well. One big part of when things aren't going so well is when the financial advisor isn't doing their job competently and doing a disservice to the plan sponsor. This article is about situations where the plan sponsor may have to fire their financial advisor.
To read this article, please click
here.
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New Year's Resolution should be a plan review.
Should be done.
 You know it's all about New Year's Resolutions when Target gets rid of the Christmas items and starts offering organization and cleaning supplies. The beginning of the year is about self-care and taking care of things that you either promised or finally have the time for.
For a plan sponsor, I think part of keeping a New Year's resolution is getting your plan reviewed by an independent plan provider. I have a Retirement Plan Tune-Up legal plan review for $750 which can be paid from plan assets and other plan providers offer these type of reviews.
I think it's important to discover errors before they become bigger and costlier to fix. I know most plan sponsors don't want to do it, but I find that getting things corrected before they become unavoidable plan problems is costlier and causes fewer headaches.
With time before your third-party administrator asks about the end of the plan year census information, it's important to get a plan review because now it's the season.
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The end of the determination letter program and what it means.
What it could mean to your plan document.
 For the past 15 years, it's been apparent that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) wanted to be out of the favorable determination letter business. Over time, the IRS was limiting when they would issue determination letters.
When I first started in the retirement letter plan business, it was pretty much required that every retirement plan document that wasn't a standardized prototype should get one. Then the IRS ruled that every line by line adopter of a volume submitter or prototype document (including non-standardized) didn't need one either. Then they pretty ruled you only should get one when it was an initial plan document and when the plan was terminating.
What does it mean? It means that the IRS wants their agents less focused on opining how documents are drafted and more emphasis on voluntary compliance program applications and more audits. It means that since plans can no longer rely on IRS approval on their plan documents, they will need to have more emphasis on making sure that their plan document and their plan operation are in compliance, especially if there are more IRS audits in the field.
I recently spoke to an IRS agent about a determination letter application for a plan termination and he indicated major changes in his office and his change of operation to handling VCP applications. Less determination letter requests mean less work in my office for the last 8 years in that part, but it means I've had more work in voluntary compliance submissions, as well as late deposits of 401(k) deferrals.
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Join me in St. Pete for a unique plan sponsor event, $35 for 401(k) info and an event you won't forget.
Friday, March 8, St. Petersburg, Florida, Tropicana Field.
 This March, I will hosr the first That 401(k) Plan Sponsor Forum, which is geared towards plan sponsors. It will be similar to That 401(k) Conference, which is my event for 401(k) financial advisors. For $35, you get 4 hours of content to help you as a plan sponsor, lunch, and a meet and greet with baseball great (TBA).
As a plan provider, it's a great event to sponsor and interact with plan sponsors by either speaking through a presenting sponsorship or as a supporting sponsor.
Registration information can be found
here.
Sponorship information for both St. Pete events can be found
here.
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The Rosenbaum Law Firm Review, February 2019
734 Franklin Avenue, Suite 302
Garden City, New York 11530 Phone 516-594-1557 Fax 516-368-3780
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar results.
Copyright 2019, The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C. All rights reserved.
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