Leveraging an expert administrator's specialized compliance knowledge, fiduciary support, automated technology, and dedicated service team, HR departments can significantly reduce their 401(k) administrative burdens and associated legal risks.

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Compliance Expertise

 

Maintaining a 401(k) plan in compliance with complex ERISA regulations requires specialized knowledge that most HR staff lack. An expert 401(k) administrator ensures:

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• Adherence to ever-changing legal requirements and deadlines

• Proper plan document maintenance and amendments

• Accurate administration of eligibility, vesting, distributions, etc.

 

This relieves the HR team from having to develop and maintain this technical expertise in-house. Further, it eliminates several elements of the associated "key-man-risk".

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Fiduciary Support

 

Acting as a 3(16) plan administrator fiduciary, an expert assumes many time-consuming tasks and legal liabilities, such as:

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• Selecting and monitoring investment options

• Benchmarking fees for reasonableness

• Approving distributions and plan loans

 

This reduces the burden and risk on internal HR fiduciaries.

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Automated Processes

 

Expert administrators leverage technology to automate and streamline processes like:

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• Online employee enrollments and contribution changes

• Paperless distribution and loan requests

• Consolidated record-keeping across payroll/investment providers

 

Automating these administrative tasks greatly reduces the HR workload.

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Dedicated Support

 

With a dedicated team focused solely on 401(k) administration, expert providers can offer more comprehensive and responsive participant support than overloaded HR staff, including:

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• One-on-one investment guidance

• Educational meetings and communications

• Timely resolution of issues and questions

 

This frees up HR to focus on strategic business priorities.