Organizing Your Retirement Plan Fiduciary File

Posted By Peter Philipp, CFA, CFP®

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:

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.
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Administrative: Evidence of Employer Contributions, Distribution Documents; Audit Results; Participant Complaints; Fiduciary Liability Insurance Contract, Correspondence, etc.
Participant Communication: Enrollment Material, Documentation of Communication Events, etc.
Investments: Documentation of Investment Activity, Executive Summaries from Committee Meetings, Current Fund Menu and expenses, etc.

We are prepared to support you throughout your retirement plan compliance process. For more information please contact us.

Filed Under: ERISA Fiduciary Duties, Plan Sponsor Best Practices Tagged With: 401k Administrators, board resolutions, Employee Retirement Income Security Act, enrollment material, form 5500, investment policy statement, IRS, Pension, Plan Fiduciary, plan sponsor, provider contracts, retirement plan, summary plan description, United States Department of Labor

About Peter Philipp, CFA, CFP®

Peter Philipp specializes in employee benefits and investment management for businesses and individuals. In 1993, he helped launch the world’s first target-date funds, a concept which has become the cornerstone of today’s 401(k) plans. Peter holds both the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification, an elite distinction since less than half of 1% of all financial advisors are “dually‐certified.”

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