Fred Barstein with Adjunct Lecturer, Rick Unser – Financial Advisor, Creative Planning
When forming a retirement committee, embracing creative thinking can yield substantial benefits. A well-rounded committee is pivotal in overseeing employer-sponsored retirement plans, ensuring meticulous fiduciary responsibilities, and making judicious decisions. Diverse perspectives and skills, cultivated by thinking outside the box during the committee selection process, contribute significantly to its effectiveness.
The committee, a cornerstone in managing plan design, compliance, and asset management, brings together expertise in finance, HR, and investments. This amalgamation fosters transparency, employee engagement, and adherence to legal standards. A collaborative approach not only enhances the quality of decisions but also safeguards participants’ financial well-being through vigilant investment monitoring, regulatory compliance, and effective communication about retirement benefits.
Selecting committee members demands a thoughtful approach, striking a balance between financial acumen, HR knowledge, and an understanding of retirement plan regulations. Inclusion of representatives from both management and employees ensures a broad spectrum of perspectives, reinforcing a commitment to fiduciary responsibility. Regular training keeps members informed about evolving regulations, empowering them to navigate retirement plan management effectively.
Ultimately, a meticulously chosen retirement committee becomes the linchpin in safeguarding participants’ interests, contributing significantly to the success and compliance of the employer-sponsored retirement plan. Insights from Rick Unser, shared during The Plan Sponsor University (TPSU) Fiduciary Education Program at UCLA, underscore the importance of flexibility in the number of members, typically suggesting three, including an HR leader, a finance leader, and a rotating third position. Engaged and committed committee members, as emphasized by Unser, are essential for effective decision-making and ensuring the committee’s lasting impact.
Read the Full Transcript Here:
Fred Barstein:
Greetings. This is Fred Barstein, CEO and founder of TPSU. I’m here at Drake University campus in Des Moines, where we just completed a TPSU program with our adjunct lecturer, Brian Thompson. Welcome, Brian.
Brian Thompson:
Glad to be here.
Fred Barstein:
Okay if we ask you a few questions?
Brian Thompson:
Please.
Fred Barstein:
Before we do, tell us a little bit about yourself and your firm.
Brian Thompson:
Yeah. Originally from Iowa, I’ve been in the financial industry doing this as an advisor almost 20 years. Also have a military background in the Iowa International Guard for a lot of years. Enlisted in flying air refueling tanker jets.
Fred Barstein:
Great. Well, thanks for your service.
Brian Thompson:
Yeah. My pleasure.
Fred Barstein:
So one of the things that came up a lot in this program, and thanks for conducting it for us, is about what plan sponsors are looking for from their plan advisors. So what are you seeing out there?
Brian Thompson:
Yeah. I see more and more desire for the advisor to engage with the employees. The plan sponsor, the leadership in companies, more and more asking for how can we get our employees access to personal financial advice for investments, financial planning, retirement planning, just even general financial questions. They really seemingly want to help them have personal care financially.
Fred Barstein:
Right. And a lot of advisors have become specialists, they don’t have that kind of personal employee financial planning background. Do you guys do that as well?
Brian Thompson:
We do. So I started out focusing on business owners for wealth management. I was naive to the fact of how much retirement plans we’re going to figure in to those wealth practices with business owners. But it didn’t take long before I was really intrigued with plans because I could just see the greater impact you could have on more people’s lives. Yes, you can help owners and highly comped save more and help their tax situation maybe, but you just cast such a wider net in lives you can touch when you can do personal wealth with employees.
Fred Barstein:
Right. Yeah, I think we’re seeing that, the convergence of wealth, retirement and benefits. Final question for you, it was your first TPSU, what did you think and why should a plan sponsor attend?
Brian Thompson:
Yeah, I really enjoyed it. It was so nice to get people who care in the room. People who care about their job, people who care about what they’re responsible for and who they take care of through the retirement plan at their company. The level of engagement is exactly what an advisor would want in who they work with. And for plan sponsors, there was just so much knowledge that they’re not coming across on their own or a lot of times from whoever they’re working with. So having a specialized plan advisor to provide that breadth and depth of knowledge specializing around plans, everyone was very grateful
Fred Barstein:
And to hear from their peers as well.
Brian Thompson:
Yeah. And that was a fantastic thing with being able to talk about what’s working, what’s not working with plans. The peer sharing was very powerful. It was hard to get them to stop talking.
Fred Barstein:
Right. That’s great.
Brian Thompson:
Yeah.
Fred Barstein:
Well, thanks for your time. Thanks for participating. And thank you for watching 401K TV.
