erisa Archives - 401k Plan Optimization, Compliance, Investment & Partners

What Plan Sponsors Really Need as the 401(k) Industry Evolves

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Advisor, AI, AI for Retirement, Communication, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, Employee engagement, erisa, Fiduciary, Financial Advisors, participant education, Retirement planning, Retirement Readiness, Retirement readiness, Secure Act Changes

The retirement industry is changing quickly, but are advisors and providers focusing on what plan sponsors actually need? From artificial intelligence and industry consolidation to...

Could Voluntary Benefits Become the Next Target for ERISA Lawsuits?

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Managed Accounts, 401(k) Participant Education, 401(k) Plan Management, 401k plan, benefit education, Communication, DC Plan Sponsors, DOL, DOL Guidance, erisa, ERISA Advisory Council, ERISA Attorneys, ERISA Lawsuits, fee lawsuits, Fiduciary, Financial planning, Financial Wellness

Retirement plan sponsors have spent years navigating lawsuits about excessive fees and fiduciary responsibilities. Now, another category of employee benefits may be attracting plaintiffs’ attorneys’...

When Should Participant Preferences Shape Retirement Plan Decisions?

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k News, benefit education, Benefits integration, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, Employee Benefits, Employee engagement, Employee feedback, Employee Survey, Employee training, employer match, erisa, Fiduciary, financial literacy, Financial Wellness, Retirement plan management, Retirement Plan Participation

Participant feedback can offer valuable insight into what employees want from their retirement benefits. But translating those preferences into plan decisions requires plan sponsors and...

Target-Date Funds Are the Default Choice — But They Can’t Be a Default Decision

By David Witz / 401k plan, Benchmarking & Fees (ERISA, retirement plan), Benchmarking Fees, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, DOL, education, erisa, Fiduciary, Fiduciary, Participant data, Participant Retirement Outcomes Financial Visualization, Retirement Readiness, Target Date Funds

The Investment Company Institute reports that approximately $4.9 trillion was invested in target-date strategies at year-end 2025.[1] A clear indication that Target-date funds (“TDFs”) have...

AI Can Help Run Your Plan But Fiduciaries Still Own the Mistakes

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k plan, AI, AI for Retirement, Benefits integration, cybersecurity, erisa, Fiduciary, Financial Wellness, Financial Wellness, Independent TPA, managed accounts, TPA Landscape

AI is showing up in more corners of plan administration: personalized communications, claims processing, investment reviews, even committee minutes. The time savings are real. But...

A Missing Detail in Your SPD Could Cost You More Than You Think

By Fred Barstein / AI, AI for Retirement, Changing Recordkeepers, DC Plan Sponsors, erisa, Fiduciary, SPD, Summary Plan Description

Most fiduciaries don’t think of their summary plan description as a liability risk. It’s a compliance document—something the recordkeeper drafts, maybe HR reviews, and participants...

PEPs Look Attractive to Larger Employers, But Are the Tradeoffs Worth It?

By Fred Barstein / 3(38) Investment Advisers, 401(k) Plan Management, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, erisa, Fiduciary, Financial Wellness, Improving Outcomes, Investments, participation, PEPs, Plan design, Retirement Plan Participation

Pooled employer plans have earned their reputation as a practical solution for smaller employers. But as adoption grows, larger plan sponsors have started asking whether...

Not All Adviser Conflicts Are Equal, But None Should Be Ignored

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Advisor, Benchmarking & Monitoring Fees & Partners, Benchmarking Fees, Convergence & Advisor M&A, Documents & testing, erisa, Financial Advisors, Financial Wellness, Investments, IRA Roll overs and Roll ins, Managed Accounts, One-on-on consulting, Participant data

The financial services industry has largely normalized compensation arrangements that create conflicts of interest. Other professional fields—tax and legal—figured this out long ago and largely...

Six Plan Governance Blind Spots and How to Fix Them

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k plan, 401k Trends, Adaptability, Audit, Benchmarking & Fees (ERISA, retirement plan), Benchmarking Fees, benefits committee, Compliance, Cyber Security, DC Plan Sponsors, erisa, ERISA Advisory Council, fee lawsuits, Fiduciary, Fiduciary Liability, Financial Advisors, investment, Legislation, participation, Plan governance

Running a retirement plan involves a lot of moving pieces—service providers, investment options, fees, compliance requirements—and it’s easy for fiduciaries to get so deep into...

Private Credit Leaders Say It’s Time to Drop the “Semi-Liquid” Label

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Advisor, Collective Investment Trust, Communication, DC Plan Sponsors, DOL, DOL Guidance, erisa, Fiduciary, global retirement trend, investment, Participant data, Private Credit Semi-Liquid Label, Regs and Regulators, Retirement planning

The private credit industry is doing some soul-searching—and one of the first casualties may be the term “semi-liquid.” That was a key theme at this...