Preventive maintenance is key to retirement plan health

Jay Schmitt, ASAThought Leadership

Periodic checkups can keep plans running smoothly and help plan sponsors identify issues early, before those become difficult and expensive to correct. Such audits come in two varieties—transactional audits and operational audits.

A background on retirement plan cyber crimes and how to mitigate them

Rebecca Moore, Managing Editor of Digital for PLANSPONSORThought Leadership

The onus of safeguarding plan participants from fraud does not fall solely on the recordkeeper. Both DC plan sponsors and recordkeepers need to agree on fraud-resistant processes that are clearly documented, rigorously implemented and consistently followed. Here are a few tips.

Retirement readiness starts at work

Leslie Olds, FSA, EA, FCA, MAAAThought Leadership

Every year, 3.8 million people in the U.S. reach retirement age. How can plan sponsors help workers get ready? Offering a retirement readiness program that considers employees’ emotional, financial and healthcare needs can go a long way toward helping them prepare.

Keeping up with all the players in outsourced benefits administration

Andy Adams and Jay Schmitt, ASAThought Leadership

The benefits outsourcing market is evolving rapidly, making it hard for plan sponsors to know what to look for — and who to consider — when preparing RFPs for the outsourcing of defined benefit, defined contribution, health and welfare and nonqualified benefits. Here are some tips.

Where plan sponsors and recordkeepers stand on multi-factor authentication

Kim ShumateThought Leadership

We surveyed plan sponsors and 401(k) recordkeepers to determine how they are using multi-factor authentication (MFA) as a tactic for mitigating defined-contribution plan fraud and protecting sensitive participant and plan information. Here’s what we found.

How to walk the line with pension overpayments

Mindy Zatto, FSA, EA, FCA, MAAA, MSPPA and Mary Shah, FSA, EA, FCAThought Leadership

SBA principals Mary Shah and Mindy Zatto discuss ways to recoup pension overpayments that satisfy regulators and do not place burden on retirees, as well as how to prevent overpayments from happening.

Finding the right voluntary benefits broker may be trickier than clients realize

Jay Schmitt, ASAThought Leadership

When selecting a provider for voluntary benefits, small to midsize companies often turn to the same broker that serves their medical or retirement plan needs. But medical and retirement benefits brokers may lack the knowledge or impartiality required to deliver optimal service in the voluntary benefits space. An unbiased third party that neither sells insurance products nor receives commissions when its clients select insurance products can help with the broker search.

Is your nonqualified plan causing you anxiety? Here’s what to do

Lynn Bullard, ASA, EA, FCAThought Leadership

Nonqualified retirement plans are less common — and more frequently misunderstood — than their qualified plan counterparts. This article highlights common nonqualified plan challenges that HR managers and benefits coordinators may encounter.

Safeguarding DC plan data is about more than cybersecurity

Andy Adams and Jay Schmitt, ASAThought Leadership

The onus of safeguarding plan participants from fraud does not fall solely on the recordkeeper. Both DC plan sponsors and recordkeepers need to agree on fraud-resistant processes that are clearly documented, rigorously implemented and consistently followed. Here are a few tips.

Plan sponsors could consider a different solution to provider woes

Andy Adams and Jay Schmitt, ASAThought Leadership

Occasional employee complaints about a benefit plan are inevitable. But when they become a regular occurrence, it can point to more significant problems with a plan administrator or other vendor. Companies that find themselves in this position have several options — including an often-overlooked option that we call “vendor recovery.”