The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company, Inc. and Pension Resource Institute have launched a new retirement tool for financial professionals called The Resource Optimizer.
It helps financial professionals determine plan risks, employer needs and the opportunity costs of implementing a retirement plan.
"Fee disclosure, a changing regulatory landscape and broker/dealer restrictions on fiduciary roles are creating significant opportunities for both experienced financial professionals and non-fiduciary financial professionals, particularly in the small-plan retirement marketplace, which accounts for the vast majority of plans," said Jason Frain, left, vice president of 401(k) product management and development for Guardian Retirement Solutions. "These changes are forcing plan sponsors to rely on financial professionals to provide education and actionable solutions for compliance challenges. Many plan sponsors lack the experience, time and resources to effectively manage these plans to help participants achieve successful retirement outcomes."
Recommended For You
The Resource Optimizer includes a comprehensive worksheet that determines the necessity of various services involved in the implementation of a retirement plan. The 15-question worksheet assesses a plan sponsor's needs and allows clients to discover plan risks and understand costs.
Financial professionals can use this tool to educate their clients about the activities needed for the delivery of an optimal retirement plan. They can then align these needs with appropriate service provider and specialist support, uniquely suited for their client's plan, and create the optimal mix of products and services to meet those needs, Frain said.
For non-fiduciary financial professionals, The Resource Optimizer is a tool that helps financial professionals focus their efforts on service and education, rather than on investment advice. With many broker-dealers not allowing their registered representatives to act as fiduciaries, registered representatives will need to reconsider their approach to working with plan sponsor clients. Once the support needs are identified, financial professionals can work with service providers on creating an optimal mix of products and services to help address these needs.
For plan sponsors, The Resource Optimizer clarifies some of their fiduciary duties under ERISA and identifies the specific areas where they may require professional assistance. The comprehensive Worksheet and Results Map demonstrate a commitment to plan governance and participant engagement and help simplify what's required for maintaining a successful retirement plan.
"In light of the recent regulatory changes, we expect employers to devote more time to addressing retirement plan governance over the next two years," said Jason Roberts, founder and CEO of PRI and a managing partner of Roberts Elliott, LLP, a law firm dedicated to servicing retirement plans and service providers. "Small plans often lack the required processes and/or internal expertise to demonstrate compliance with all aspects of fiduciary governance, and many are considering outsourcing investment-related responsibilities to professional investment managers.
ERISA guidelines require plan sponsors to determine not only if plan fees are reasonable but if they are actually necessary given the needs of their specific plan and its participants. Many tools have emerged to determine price competitiveness, but The Resource Optimizer is the only tool, of which I am aware, designed to identify which services may be needed based upon a plan sponsor's input."
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
