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With the new year just around the corner, many benefit plan executives will soon be updating and organizing their retirement plan files and looking for better ways to help employees save for the future. Plan sponsors at large companies also will be spending additional time reviewing governance documents, including policies and procedures manuals, investment committee meeting minutes and quarterly reports in preparation for the annual audit as required by the Department of Labor.

Ensuring plan compliance and fiduciary plan governance is no easy feat given the increasingly complex and changing rules and regulations governing retirement plans. One way sponsors can stay ahead of the game is to work with advisors whose companies have passed certification from third parties, such as the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX).

These organizations regularly update their assessment protocols and refine their certification criteria to ensure retirement plan advisors have the expertise, capabilities, policies and procedures in place to help plan sponsors meet their fiduciary obligations.

Here are three reasons why working with a certified retirement plan advisor can make benefit sponsors' lives easier:

1. Ensures sponsors are following all retirement plan documents.

Managing your plan's governance can be time consuming. The IRS and the DOL both have oversight of company retirement plans. In general, the IRS oversees the qualified status of the plans, while the DOL is responsible for fiduciary standards and reporting requirements. Here is a small sample of the list of documents that have to be in your audit file and ready for inspection:

Corporate charter
IRS approval letter
Summary plan documents and any amendments
Custodial or trust documents and any amendments
Current fidelity bond policy
Investment policy statements
Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA) Notice
Investment committee meeting minutes

Advisors who have passed certification exams have verified processes that can make your job much easier. They can also identify potential problems, material weaknesses in internal controls or conflicts of interest so the annual audit will go smoothly for plan sponsors.

2. Confirms that plan investments are diversified.

One of the primary responsibilities of retirement plan fiduciaries is to provide employees an opportunity to participate in plans so they can build their wealth. Certified advisors have proven methodologies in place to help plan sponsors offer participants a range of options to growth their money in risk-appropriate investments.

Just as important, certified advisors can help plan sponsors select investment managers who have a proven track record of success.

3. Ensures that plan expenses are reasonable.

Lawsuits over retirement plan fees continue to be a major concern for plan sponsors. While lawsuits against large corporations tend to make the headlines, more small business owners are finding themselves the targets of litigation.

Certified advisors can assist plan sponsors in selecting reasonable and cost-effective investment options – and helping them document the process to satisfy their fiduciary obligations to ensure the fees being paid are reasonable for the investment services provided.

Confidence in compliance

Benefits professionals are under constant pressure to meet federal regulations. By working with a certified retirement plan advisor, sponsors can be confident their plans are in compliance and that they are helping improve the financial well-being of their employees.

Brad Knowles is managing director for Heritage Retirement Plan Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisor with the SEC that specializes in providing fiduciary and investment advisory services to employer sponsored qualified and non-qualified retirement plans. Brad began his financial services career in 2001 and founded his own retirement plan advisory firm, RBK Capital, in 2014. Brad joined Heritage in 2016 and is one of around 50 advisors nationally who have earned the Certified Behavioral Finance Analysts (CBFA) designation. Brad earned his Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Oklahoma.

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3 ways a certified retirement advisor can improve your retirement plan

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