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It will cost more if you do delay.
 There are so many things we try to avoid doing. It can be going to the dentist, taking time out for cleaning, or going out shopping at the supermarket. If we avoid going to the dentist and don't care about the routine exam, you may develop bigger problems that could have taken care of earlier and with less pain. There are certain functions you have as a plan sponsor that you would like to avoid, but you can't because you're responsible as a plan fiduciary to get these things done. This article is important 401(k) plan tasks that you cant delay and if you do, it's at your own peril.
To read this article, please click here.
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The Word On What 401(k) Plan Sponsors May Need
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Know what you need.
 The greatest thing about the Internet is the distribution of information that people used to have to rely on an Encyclopedia or other reference materials to find out information on a specific topic. This is so true of retirement plans and plan sponsors finally understand their role as plan fiduciaries thanks to information on the Web and in articles like these are eye-openers for plan sponsors in managing their plan. Thanks to the web and through great materials by plan providers, plans sponsors are finally understanding what they need to manage their 401(k) plan. Too many don't, so this article is talking about things that 401(k) plan sponsors want or may need in running their plan.
To read the article, please click here.
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Important Tasks That Most 401(k) Plan Sponsors Ignore.
They can't afford to ignore.
 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 attorney 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.
For the article, click here.
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There is a difference between TPAs.
Not just price, quality too.
 In any service industry, the quality of service and price can be far and wide. While people say that I focus way too much on the workings on the third-party administration (TPA) business, I have more experience in that field as an ERISA attorney and former employee of a couple of TPAs.
People often ask whether as an ERISA attorney, I work as a TPA as well. I quickly state no, let the folks who know what they are doing do what they are doing. I have too much respect for the work of TPAs to be in that business, which I find gets too much blame and not enough credit, at least for the good ones.
However, looking at the TPA business, I always notice the wide difference in pricing, but more about the wide difference in service. For example, I have a client who clearly was taken advantage of by a TPA that is really in the business of selling insurance, with the administration just being treated as an ancillary service. The clients were sold a couple of life insurance policies that the company could no longer afford with a special sub-trust that the Internal Revenue Service no longer finds special.
I have another TPA looking at the plan, which may or may not charge the same price, but offering an exit plan to get out of the plan that is a half million in the hole. The potential new TPA remarked how the plan should have winded down earlier and wondered why the current TPA/ snake oil salesman didn't advise the same. It's hard to when you really aren't in the TPA business and are really in the insurance selling business because terminated plans don't pay administration fees or pay premiums.
When it comes to finding the right TPA, price is important, but the quality of service is the difference maker to me.
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Don't forget that DB restatement date
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It will be there before you know it.
 The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has established a process that requires all retirement plan sponsor who have adopted a pre-approved retirement plan to restate their plans once every six years to reflect changes in the Internal Revenue Code and IRS regulations.
All pre-approved defined benefit pension plans must be restated by April 30, 2020, to remain in compliance with the Code and IRS regulations. The name given to this requirement is known as the PPA Restatement. The PPA Restatement is named after the Pension Protection Act of 2006 which was passed by Congress. A restatement is a re-writing of the Adoption Agreement.
It incorporates changes from any plan amendments that may have been adopted since the last time the document was prepared. Failure to restate the document before the deadline can result in disqualification of the plan and/or significant penalties.
If you are a defined benefit plan sponsor or know one that needs a restatement, you know where I am.
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Check out That 401(k) Podcast.
The podcast you should listen to if you have the time.
 Please check out That 401(k) Podcast, where I co-host with Dan Venturi of Bright Worxx. We tackle important 401(k) subjects for both plan sponsors and plan providers. In addition, we talk about all the events I'm hosting. as well as important cultural allusions.
Find it
here and on Apple Podcasts
here.
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The Rosenbaum Law Firm Review, March 2020
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 2020, The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C. All rights reserved.
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