Category: Retirement Plan Sponsors

As a plan sponsor and fiduciary of your company’s retirement plan, keeping an up-to-date fiduciary file is critical. To begin, we recommend preparing your file in four key sections; contents of each section could include the following: I. Documents: plan document, IRS determination letter, summary plan description, investment policy statement, 404(c) policy statement and notice, form 5500s, service provider contracts, nondiscrimination test results, corporate tax returns, corporate board resolutions, etc. II. Administrative: evidence of employer contributions, distribution documents, audit…

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After years of proposed regulation issuance, comment periods, drafting and anticipation, the Department of Labor (DOL) finally published final guidance regarding the definition of “fiduciary” on April 8, 2016. It is important for plan sponsors to understand the reasoning behind, and the scope, of the final rules. The following Q&A is meant to assist you in understanding the regulations and how they pertain to you, your plan and your participants. Q: Why did the DOL issue these new rules? A: The definition of “fiduciary” for purposes of providing…

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Many plan sponsors mistakenly believe that they are not required to offer the retirement plan to part-time employees. Regardless of what type of retirement plan you have, all employees, including part-time employees that work 1,000 hours in a year, must be offered the retirement benefit. Though your plan may contain a service requirement that essentially prevents “part-timers” from ever becoming eligible (such as a one year and/or 1,000 hours requirement), part-time employees may NOT categorically be excluded as a…

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With most retirement plans, the fiduciary responsibility of selecting and monitoring the plan’s menu of investments is designated to a retirement plan investment committee. This committee usually includes financial officers and human resources officers of the employer. The committee meets periodically (anywhere from annually to quarterly) to consider agenda items including investment due diligence, fees and services of plan providers, status of plan goals, etc. From a fiduciary perspective it is just as important to properly document these meetings…

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Since the inception of markets, there have been particular investments that garnered the attention of investors above all others. In the 1600s it was the tulip mania and at the turn of this century, tech stocks had investors’ focus. Although not to the extent of these examples, currently low-volatility dividend paying stocks are the rage du jour in this low-yielding uncertain market environment. The lack of yield available on bonds has driven yield-thirsty investors to bond proxies for income,…

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Wellspring Financial Partners is a premier retirement plan Advisor offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporate qualified retirement plans, including 401(k), 403(b), Profit Sharing, 457 and Employee Stock Ownership Plans. We’re an Independent Registered Investment Advisory firm and serve as a co-fiduciary with the Plan Sponsor, holding our team to a greater level of responsibility in both legal and ethical standards. As your fiduciary partner, we are committed to minimizing your corporate and personal liability while helping your…

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