Effective retirement plan management hinges on comprehensive sponsor education and fiduciary training to ensure compliance, optimize performance, and uphold fiduciary duties. Plan sponsors must select, monitor, and evaluate retirement offerings while adhering to regulations and best practices for employee financial wellness. Balancing investment assessment, fee management, and evolving compliance standards is particularly challenging for HR specialists, whose primary roles may differ. With robust education and resources, sponsors can make informed decisions that minimize risk and maximize plan effectiveness for participants.
Fred Barstein, CEO and founder of TPSU, recently interviewed Sam Martin, a partner at Cerity Partners and an active lecturer in TPSU programs, about Cerity Partners’ commitment to educating retirement plan committees and supporting plan sponsors. Sam emphasized that education has been central to Cerity Partners’ mission from the beginning, particularly in guiding committee members through the complexities of fiduciary responsibilities. With the legal and ethical significance of managing retirement plans in the best interests of employees, Sam noted that education is essential. By helping plan sponsors fully understand their roles and responsibilities, Cerity Partners empowers them to manage their retirement plans effectively.
As part of this educational approach, Cerity Partners has partnered with TPSU to provide online, self-paced training modules tailored for retirement plan committee members. These modules consist of three 30-minute segments and offer in-depth guidance on plan management and fiduciary duties, with the flexibility to accommodate busy committee members. Cerity Partners initially introduced the modules to all committee members about a year ago, and they continue to include them in the onboarding process for new members, ensuring that every participant is equipped to fulfill their role with confidence and understanding.
Read the Full Transcript Here:
Fred Barstein:
Greetings. This is Fred Barstein, CEO and founder of TPSU. Just completed a TPSU program at USC. And I’m here with our adjunct lecturer, Sam Martin, from Cerity Partners. Welcome, Sam.
Sam Martin:
Thank you, Fred. Happy to be here.
Fred Barstein:
Before we start, tell us a little bit about yourself and your firm.
Sam Martin:
Sure. Our firm, Cerity Partners, we’re a national wealth management retirement plan advisory practice. I’ve been with the firm for about 13 years now, a partner at the firm, and my focus has been committed to helping plan sponsors with all things retirement plan.
Fred Barstein:
Great. One of the things I know your firm is very dedicated to is retirement committee education. So number one, why is that important, and what do you guys do?
Sam Martin:
Yeah, education’s been foundational to everything we’ve done since our firm was founded, and we’ve certainly carried that through to our retirement plan practice, and especially our committee members. Fiduciary responsibility and liability being such a hot topic and so important to plan sponsors. We want to make sure that they understand their roles and responsibilities and how to effectively manage their plans for the benefit of their employees.
Fred Barstein:
So what is the process you go through for educating and training, either a new client or a new committee member even?
Sam Martin:
Yeah, so we do a lot in our committee members, but more specifically we do partner with the plan sponsor university to provide online committee education. It’s three online modules, self-paced only, takes about 30 minutes a module, and we found it to be really effective for our committee members. We rolled it out to all of our committee members en masse about a year ago, and now we provide it ongoing to any new committee member that comes onto any of our clients.
Fred Barstein:
Great. So final question. What do you think that plan sponsors get out of coming to a TPSU program? Because getting a lot of response, and why do you think they’re coming?
Sam Martin:
Yeah, I think there’s a lot of value, both in just understanding the landscape for themselves as plan sponsors. I know a lot of the sponsors we get are new into the role, and so they’re really trying to just understand and grasp their new responsibilities. But I think even bigger value is being able to collaborate with their peers, and understand the employee market space, what employees are thinking about, how their peers have effectively implemented their plans or provisions to benefit their employees.
Fred Barstein:
Great. Well good. Well, thanks for being a lecturer, and thank you for watching 401K TV and we hope to see you at a TPSU program near you.
