Technology Company with Employer Stock
COO asked for guidance regarding:
Starting a new plan
Training the staff on fiduciary responsibilities
Setting up employer stock
How we found the solutions:
Plan Design and Employer Stock
After discussion, they desired flat fees rather than asset-based, inexpensive administration, and bare bones website and education materials since their employees would rely on the website. We chose a quality, low cost provider that charges flat fees per participant. We selected a lineup of investments with institutional share classes so that every participant paid the same flat fee. Last, we partnered with an ERISA attorney to put together the employer stock offering and provide expertise on how to properly administer that portion going forward.
Implementing the Plan
Installing the plan was relatively easy with a series of phone calls and an ongoing timeline of what was implemented and when. We acted as troubleshooters and project managers to help the company make decisions with the future and employee-end-user in mind, considered what would streamline their back office workload, and kept everyone on task to keep the project moving along.
Fiduciary Training
Three individuals formed the retirement plan committee and were responsible for administering it. One would be ultimately signing for it, one was responsible for the payroll and participant notices, and the third was responsible as the day-to-day contact. We did a series of webinars with them to cover different aspects of the plan including investment monitoring and selection, DOL and IRS related deadlines and requirements, managing vendors, best practices for procedures, and time-saving tips. Together we were able to outline processes and procedures, divide responsibilities, and construct a strategy and prudent process for monitoring that incorporated their proprietary benefits notification technology. We also leveraged their technology to send each employee an enrollment video, blast out FAQs and participant notices, and conduct one-on-one meetings through their video conference portal.
Ongoing, we provide assistance overseeing their plan, monitoring the investments, and helping their employees.
