Most fiduciary problems at small and mid-size businesses don't start with bad intentions. Business owners sponsor retirement plans for good reasons: to help employees build their futures, to compete for talent, and to save for their own retirement too. Trouble...

Every autumn, retirement plan sponsors must meet a fundamental compliance obligation: communicating about plan status to participants via the Summary Annual Report (SAR). For calendar-year plans, the standard distribution deadline for sharing 2025’s information is September 30, 2026 (or December...

Compiled with guidance from accountants, attorneys, and ERISA compliance experts If you sponsor a workplace retirement plan — a 401(k), profit-sharing plan, or similar arrangement — you carry one of the most consequential legal obligations in employment law. Embedded within...

When you sponsor a retirement plan for employees, such as a 401k, you exercise discretion whenever you make decisions about the plan’s management. That’s why, under the Employee Retirement Income and Security Act, you are considered a fiduciary, and can...

When you sponsor a retirement plan, it is tempting to assume your service providers have everything covered. However, under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), selecting and monitoring these vendors is a fiduciary act. Because retirement accounts house highly...

Though it’s the big dollar cases against big companies with large 401k plans that make headlines, the reality is that sponsors with businesses of every size need to beware of their ERISA litigation risks. Attorneys and 410k specialists provide insights...

With the exploration of private equity and other alternative investments in 401k plans underway, plan sponsors are confronting increased uncertainty and complexity as ERISA fiduciaries. Decision making errors in the face of duties like prudence and loyalty come with the...

The Department of Labor obligates retirement plan sponsors to mitigate cybersecurity threats to plan assets and data, and provides specific guidance for doing so. Still, many retirement plan sponsors find it overwhelming to develop action steps, which is understandable in...

While third party administrators (TPAs) and other pension professionals play a critical role in successful 401ks, plan sponsors retain the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the plan continuously operates in the best interests of participants. That’s why it is wise...

Fiduciary Liability Insurance protects plan sponsors and other fiduciaries who offer and manage a pension or retirement plan against claims alleging mismanagement of the plan.