This is the first advice we give to our clients: Do not take this responsibility lightly. Much is at stake and great sums of money are involved. The rules and processes are very complicated. Many in the industry will take advantage of trust, passivity and ignorance. Compliance is not a luxury; it is a necessity.
The pension industry is very complex and many people simply don’t have the time to investigate and educate themselves. Relying on vendors or intermediaries to fulfill all plan responsibilities creates a false sense of security. Investment and record keeping vendors are necessary, but they do not address many critical areas. Their need to promote their own products can also result in biased recommendations. Intermediaries, such as financial advisers, lack both the knowledge and the systems needed to monitor every aspect of plan management. This is where we come in.
We put a structure in place to monitor your plan’s operations, report any discovered deficiencies and guide any decisions on all of the key aspects of plan management. We continually educate each group – plan sponsor employees, plan fiduciaries, and plan participants – about their role and their responsibilities. Better structure and education yields better plan management.
Adding Pension Consultants to your current configuration can often be accomplished without increasing your plan’s overall expense. In fact, because of our complete industry knowledge, we frequently reduce the total plan expenses. Our goal is for you to reap the benefits of our systematic, methodical approach and incorporate our expertise to learn the best ways to help your participants retire securely.