As a plan sponsor, it's crucial to understand the different types of bonds that protect your retirement plan and its participants. Two common types of bonds are ERISA Bonds and Fiduciary Bonds. While they may seem similar, they serve different purposes and offer distinct protections.

In September, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released an Interpretive Bulletin that updates guidance on audits of benefit plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The updated guidelines intend to help determine when a qualified public accountant is independent for auditing and rendering an opinion on Form 5500. With the new guidance, DOL removes what it describes as certain “outdated and unnecessarily restrictive provisions” and reorganizes other provisions for clarity.

Plan Sponsor Q&A - Q2 2022

What Disclosures May be Distributed Electronically under the DOL Safe Harbor? A comprehensive guidance - and safe for plan fiduciaries - is the safe harbor for electronic delivery provided in the DOL regulations.

Although not legally required by ERISA, a retirement plan committee charter is a very important document for plan governance which may help fiduciaries avoid potential liabilities. Committee Charters are one effective way to “evidence” intent of prudent plan management. Having a charter is a “best practice” all plan sponsors should seriously consider.

Most organizations’ human resource departments and C-suites are seeking efficiencies and risk mitigation for their entities. For these, and a myriad of other, reasons, plan sponsors are giving 3(38) fiduciary discretionary investment management services a closer look.

No one wants to be caught flat-footed when the auditors come calling. With a new standard issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), both auditors and plan sponsors will be subject to new responsibilities.

Participant data and financial accounts comprise some of the most sensitive and potentially vulnerable information under a company’s care. These highly valuable assets can be an attractive target for cybercriminals and therefore present considerable security risk.

Fiduciary Hot Topics - Federal District Court Rules Record Keepers May Use Participant Data to Cross-Sell Retail Products; the Biden Administration Plans to Walk Back the Restricting the Use of ESG Funds; Tax Payers will Pick up the Tab for Underfunded Multiemployer Pension Plans for the Next 30 Years; Funding Relief for Underfunded Single Employer Pension Plans and Senate Removes Freeze on 401(k) Inflation Adjustments from ARPA.

The primary purpose of a committee charter is to document overall plan governance. It is not dissimilar to how your Investment Policy Statement (IPS) acts as a “roadmap” for managing your plan investments.

Fiduciaries are personally responsible for participant losses resulting from a fiduciary breach. Plan sponsor fiduciaries who handle plan investments themselves, or use advisors who do not assume fiduciary status, face potential exposure for both investment performance and all plan fees.

Many ERISA plan sponsors are unclear regarding a primary fiduciary responsibility concerning plan document retention (which and when documents may be purged). Most plan sponsors adopt an assumed “reasonable” amount of time to retain documents prior to purging them.