Best Practices for 401(k) Plans
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Defined contribution plans – which most frequently are offered as 401(k), 403(b) or 457 plans – are complex. Yet they are the primary retirement plan for most Americans, with the decline in the number of traditional defined benefit programs. The way in which defined contribution plans are constructed and managed can make an important difference for plan participants’ futures, helping to determine the quality of life that they will enjoy in retirement.
This fact – that most Americans are affected by the quality of their defined contribution plan – has caused Congress and the federal regulatory agencies to take a closer look at defined contribution plans and the employers who manage them. There has been a rise in plan audits by the Department of Labor and the IRS as well as an increase in litigation brought against plan sponsors. Importantly, employer plan fiduciaries have personal responsibility and potential personal liability for the plans they manage, and many have had fines and penalties assessed against their personal finances.
A well designed defined contribution plan also is a powerful recruitment and retention tool for a quality workforce.
Our seminar, Best Practices for 401(k) Plans, will examine all of these challenges. The Briefing will examine plan design, investment menu selection, and financial and retirement planning education strategies that employers can implement to make their plans attractive to employees and encourage participants to build successfully toward financial security in retirement. We’ll also examine today’s regulatory and legal environment, discuss who is considered a fiduciary of a defined contribution plan, and outline steps business owners and financial and human resources professionals can take to mitigate risk and ensure their plans are fully compliant under ERISA.
Session Objectives
By the end of the presentation, attendees will be able to:
- Understand the challenges of helping employees plan and prepare for retirement and the strategies that are most effective in encouraging participant behaviors that lead to greater retirement readiness.
- Identify plan design features that have a demonstrated ability to increase plan participation and utilization.
- Learn about effective enrollment and education programming to create better financial literacy and effective retirement planning.
- Consider plan investment options that help participants place themselves easily in the investments that will best fit their goals and life situation.
- Have a basic understanding of the history of ERISA and its requirements for the management of defined contribution plans.
- Learn about recent court rulings on defined contribution plans.
- Understand employers’ obligations under the US Department of Labor rules – 408(b)2 and 404(a)5 – which took effect in the latter half of 2012.
- Understand the role, obligations and potential liability of defined contribution plan fiduciaries and how to mitigate fiduciary risk.
- Review a defined contribution plan compliance checklist and learn ways to document plan compliance.
Who Should Attend: Anyone who has responsibility for adopting or administering a 401(k) or other Defined Contribution plan – Business Owners, Financial Officers and Human Resources Professionals. This presentation will provide you with a better understanding of best practices that you can implement to help employees build more successfully toward retirement as well as steps you can take to mitigate risk to reduce potential personal liability for plan sponsors.
About Your Presenter:
John A. Frisch, CPA/PFS, CFP®, AIF®, PPCTM, has nearly 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, with expertise in investment management, fiduciary governance and retirement plan management. He writes on a variety of financial issues and lectures throughout the greater Washington, DC, area to help 401(k) plans achieve success in a changing world and a challenging regulatory environment. John is a CPA as well as a Personal Financial Specialist, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, Accredited Investment Fiduciary® and Professional Plan Consultant™. John founded Alliant Wealth Advisors in 1995 as well as John A. Frisch, CPA, PC, which later became Frisch, Ambrosiano & Kontos, PC, the largest CPA firm in Prince William, Virginia, before selling in 2005 to the 12th largest accounting firm in the world. From 1992 to 1995, John was executive vice president of Voss & Co., a discount broker/dealer, where he was responsible for all firm operations. Earlier, he managed the $1.5 billion Rushmore Group broker/dealer where he supervised the firm’s trading and portfolio accounting functions. Learn more here.
Date: June 10, 2014
Schedule:
7:30AM – 8:00AM Registration, Breakfast & Networking
8:00AM – 9:00AM Presentation and Q&A
Location: Mon Ami Gabi, Reston Town Center
11950 Democracy Drive
Reston, VA 20190
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