Early this year, the Hughes vs. Northwestern University Supreme Court case disputed Northwestern’s defined-contribution system, emphasizing the importance of 401(K) plans providing suitable investment options for its participants and fulfilling fiduciary responsibility. Northwestern’s plan included 242 investment options. Some of these funds were not good options, and therefore, the plaintiff sued on these grounds. The…
If you offer your employees a 401k plan, then, as the employer (i.e., the plan sponsor), you are ultimately responsible for keeping the plan in compliance at all times. This is true whether you set up and run the 401k yourself, or if somebody else does it for you – at the end of the…
When you start setting up a 401(k) for your company, you will begin to see that there are a lot of parties involved. You have a Financial Advisor, a Recordkeeper, and a Third Party Administrator. Each one of these parties plays an important role in running a successful 401(k). It is uncommon, but occasionally we…
Let’s get this out of the way – we, at True North Retirement Services, really like Safe Harbor 401(k) plans. The reasons should resonate with anyone looking to offer a 401(k) plan. We like them because they are very desirable from both an employer and an employee standpoint. Classic win-win. For employees, they are seen…
As a business owner, you know that offering a retirement plan is a key factor in attracting and retaining quality people. In fact, in today’s business environment, it’s a must if you want to stay competitive. It’s also a must if you have just a few, or even no employees besides yourself and perhaps a…
In talking to physicians and other professional service providers, there are a few misconceptions about 401k plans, and these misconceptions not only prevent companies from offering a 401k, they end up costing these companies money. The two biggest misconceptions regarding 401k’s are that they are only for larger companies, and that they are too costly.…
As a financial services firm with an in depth 401(k) background, one situation we see again and again is the outright mismanagement of company 401(k) plans. Medical offices in particular are often the victims of this poor planning. There are several reasons why medical offices are often tangled in this situation. The first is most…
Congratulations! You’ve successfully setup your organization with an employee retirement plan. Doing so has unlocked several benefits for your organization and your employees, including: offering employer-sponsored savings accounts to attract and retain top talent to your firm, ensuring your organization meets IRS regulations, and utilizing tax-saving strategies from eligible tax deductions by matching employee contributions.…
As important as retirement planning is, it’s surprising that more people do not know how much their 401(k) savings plan costs them. In fact, according to a survey by the National Association of Retirement Plan Participants (NARPP), nearly 58% of plan participants do not know how much they’re paying in plan fees. Additionally, of the…
Ensuring lifelong participation in 401(k) plans is beneficial to both plan sponsors and participants. The idea of plan ‘roll-ins’ allow previously existing 401(k) and other IRA retirement plans to easily roll into a new plan once a beneficiary is eligible in a new employer-sponsored plan. The idea of creating a smooth process for these roll-ins…