Defined Contribution Services

Easing Your Fiduciary Risk and Administrative Responsibilities

With complex regulatory requirements and the threat of personal liability for plan fiduciaries, maintaining your 401(k) or 403(b) plan can be a time-consuming and overwhelming process. Let us take some of the responsibility off your shoulders.

• Increased Fiduciary Protection

  We can serve as a 3(21) co-fiduciary or 3(38) fiduciary investment manager, assuming some or all of the responsibility for selecting and monitoring your plan’s investments. We’ll help you determine which level of delegation is right for you based on your plan committee’s investment knowledge, preferred involvement, and risk exposure.

• Streamlined Execution and Coordination

  Your HR and benefits teams have numerous responsibilities competing for their attention. We coordinate and help execute all the investment and administrative tasks related to your defined contribution plan—giving them more time for their other priorities.

• Cost Efficiencies

  Between administrative expenses and investment fees, the cost to maintain your defined contribution plan can quickly add up. We analyze your current fee structure to identify cost-saving opportunities without sacrificing value.

Best-In-Class Retirement Plans. Financially-Confident Employees.

With increasing attention focused on fiduciary roles and responsibilities, maintaining a sound retirement plan is more important than ever before. Our retirement plan advisors help you review and redesign all aspects of your plan to increase its effectiveness and drive better results.

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  Plan Design

  Your automatic plan features, loan policies, and distribution flexibility help shape employees’ savings behavior. Our analysis of these provisions helps you encourage maximum participation while limiting “leakage.” Proposed design changes may include increasing the default contribution percentage, adding auto escalation, or permitting systematic withdrawals.

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  Plan Governance

  How do you prove you’ve met your fiduciary obligations? It starts by establishing and following documented policies and procedures. We conduct fiduciary training for your plan committee and help you draft a committee charter, prepare meeting agendas, and record plan decisions in meeting minutes. You also have access to an online fiduciary file, so you can respond quickly to inquiries. Our annual governance calendar keeps key compliance tasks top of mind.

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  Investment Architecture

  Building an investment menu involves a myriad of decisions—number of options to offer, mix of asset classes, active or passive funds, to name a few. We help your committee create a diversified investment menu that aligns with your organization’s goals and the financial sophistication of your employees.

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  Vendor Management

  The decision to outsource plan functions to a third party requires careful consideration. Excessive fees can erode the retirement readiness of your employees. We conduct RFPs, benchmark fee structures, and evaluate the value of the services being provided to help you select the best providers for your plan.

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  Retirement Readiness

  The most effective plans are the ones that have a 90%+participation rate, a 10%+ contribution rate, and 90% of plan assets invested in a target-date fund or professionally managed account. Hitting these thresholds depends not only on your plan design and investment menu but also on participant education. We offer employees comprehensive, objective guidance to help them understand how retirement planning fits into their current financial picture.