Fiduciary Fitness Program

Our first education module, Fiduciary Duties and Responsibilities, covers essential topics to help you navigate your fiduciary role effectively. From understanding fiduciary duties and responsibilities under ERISA to identifying who is considered a fiduciary, this module equips you with the knowledge needed for prudent governance.

Module 2 outlines Strategies to Help Minimize Fiduciary Liability. Fiduciaries are subject to various forms of liability. Learn about ways to minimize your fiduciary liability.

As we delve into Module 3 of our fiduciary education series, it’s crucial to underscore the paramount importance of Selecting and Monitoring Service Providers within your retirement plan. This responsibility is not just a fiduciary duty but a cornerstone of ensuring the plan’s integrity and compliance with ERISA guidelines.

Module 4 underscores the importance of exercising prudence and diligence when Selecting Investment Options. It emphasizes the need for careful consideration of investment alternatives, diversification and cost-effectiveness to align with plan objectives and participant needs. We will explore best practices to ensure that your investment menu remains robust and compliant with ERISA standards.

The five videos in this series offer a comprehensive look at plan fee structures and fiduciary responsibilities. They begin by exploring the types of fees involved in plan management—administrative, investment and participant elective fees—and examine various payment methods, including revenue sharing. Later videos detail factors influencing fees, such as share classes and revenue-sharing models and the importance of fee disclosures as mandated by ERISA. The final segment provides best practices, guiding fiduciaries in evaluating, disclosing and monitoring fees to uphold their duty to plan participants effectively. This series is designed to help fiduciaries maintain fee transparency, reasonableness and regulatory compliance.

ERISA Section 404(c) provides critical liability protections for fiduciaries of participant-directed individual account plans, ensuring they are not held responsible for participants’ investment decisions under specific conditions. This module explores the requirements fiduciaries must meet to qualify for these protections, including offering a broad range of investment options, enabling participants to exercise independent control and providing sufficient information to make informed decisions. By understanding these safeguards, fiduciaries can effectively balance compliance and participant empowerment.

Discover the key responsibilities fiduciaries have when it comes to providing ERISA-mandated disclosures and notices. In this module, we’ll explore the Department of Labor’s Safe Harbor for electronic disclosures, 404(c) compliance requirements and best practices for ensuring your plan’s disclosures meet all regulatory standards. Gain actionable insights to protect your plan and support participants’ informed decision-making.

Organizing your fiduciary file is a critical step in managing your retirement plan responsibilities effectively. A well-maintained fiduciary file not only serves as a best practice but also ensures that essential plan documentation is easily accessible when needed, particularly during IRS or DOL audits. By organizing key plan documents you demonstrate sound management control and prepare your organization for any regulatory requests. This presentation will guide you through the components of a comprehensive fiduciary file and introduce tools such as the Sponsor Portal, to streamline the process.

Under ERISA, managing claims, appeals and qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs) is a critical fiduciary responsibility for those overseeing employee benefit plans. These processes are governed by strict rules and timelines set by the Department of Labor to ensure fairness, consistency and compliance. In this module, we’ll explore the key regulations fiduciaries must follow, including how to handle claims for retirement and disability benefits, the criteria for determining QDROs and the procedural safeguards that protect participants and alternate payees. By understanding these requirements, fiduciaries can better fulfill their duties and minimize the risk of penalties or litigation.

Prohibited transactions (PTs) are a critical concept under ERISA, aimed at protecting retirement plans and their participants from conflicts of interest and misuse of plan assets. This module will provide an overview of PT rules, define key terms like “parties in interest” and “disqualified persons,” and outline common examples, exemptions and corrective actions.

This module explains when employee elective deferral contributions must be deposited to comply with Department of Labor regulations and the consequences of late deposits, including potential operational failures and prohibited transactions. It also outlines steps for ensuring timely deposits, employer contribution deadlines and how to correct late contributions through DOL and IRS correction programs.

As a plan sponsor, understanding whether your company is part of a control group is critical for properly administering your retirement plan. In these modules, we’ll break down the different types of control groups and affiliated service groups, explain why they matter and outline key action steps plan sponsors should take to stay compliant.

This four-part series provides a practical guide to managing qualified retirement plans during corporate transactions, covering asset and stock deal structures, fiduciary risks, plan continuation, freezing or termination options and essential due diligence steps to help plan sponsors make informed decisions and avoid costly post-close liabilities.

This module offers a practical reference guide of scripted language and talking points for plan fiduciaries, HR professionals and advisors to use when navigating plan terminations, mergers, transfers, spin-offs, or freezes during a corporate transaction. It reinforces fiduciary best practices and communication strategies for ensuring compliance, managing participant expectations and reducing risk.

This module reviews how to correct missed contributions that occur when eligible employees are excluded from a retirement plan or when deferral elections aren’t properly implemented. These errors can jeopardize a plan’s qualified status, but the IRS provides approved correction methods depending on how quickly they’re discovered. The module explains eligibility rules, correction formulas and notice requirements, along with preventive steps such as reviewing plan documents, training staff and auditing administrative procedures. Proper correction and prevention help protect both participants and the plan’s compliance.