Key Role of Meeting Minutes in Retirement Plan Compliance & Audits
Maintaining detailed minutes of committee meetings is essential for companies with retirement plans that grow large enough to require yearly audits. These comprehensive records serve as a crucial tool in ensuring that all compliance requirements are met. By documenting every aspect of the meetings, including discussions, decisions, and actions taken, companies create a transparent and accountable process that demonstrates their commitment to regulatory standards. This meticulous record-keeping not only helps in tracking the progress and implementation of necessary actions but also provides a clear history of the company’s efforts to manage and optimize the retirement plan effectively.
Without detailed minutes, companies risk significant compliance issues. The Department of Labor (DOL) may assume that if meetings are not documented, they did not occur, which can lead to potential fines, penalties, or other legal complications. Moreover, these minutes act as a safeguard against any disputes or misunderstandings that may arise, offering a verifiable account of the committee’s activities and decisions. In essence, maintaining thorough minutes is not just about meeting legal requirements; it is about fostering a culture of diligence, accountability, and continuous improvement in the management of retirement plans.
Fred Barstein, CEO & founder of TPSU recently conducted an interview with Galina, a Human Resources Professional following a TPSU program held at Stanford University. During their conversation, Galina brought up the importance of maintaining detailed minutes of committee meetings. She explained that when a company’s retirement plan grows large enough to require yearly audits, it becomes crucial to have a clear and thorough record of all meetings. These minutes ensure that all compliance requirements are met and provide a track record of quarterly meetings and necessary actions taken to keep the plan running smoothly. Without these records, the Department of Labor may assume the meetings never took place.
Read the Full Transcript Here:
Fred Barstein:
Fred Barstein with 401k TV, just completed a TPSU program being held at Stanford University. I’m here with Galina. Welcome, Galina. She just attended the program. Okay if we ask you a few questions?
Galina Karpinska:
Absolutely.
Fred Barstein:
Very good. Before we do, just introduce yourself, what your role is and the size of your organization.
Galina Karpinska:
I’m Galina, working in human resources for 12 years, and working always for mid-size companies. So it’s big enough to subject to compliance, but small enough to have a big admin team. I’m doing pretty much everything.
Fred Barstein:
You do everything yourself.
Galina Karpinska:
Yes.
Fred Barstein:
You’re not alone. Two things that you brought up that we thought was important. You said you are careful to keep minutes of the committee meeting. Why did you do that?
Galina Karpinska:
Yes. When the plan become big enough to be subject to compliance to yearly audits, so that’s why you understand that you really need to be on the track. You really need to have quarterly meetings, you need to be sure that everything is running smoothly as it should to go, that everything is done as should be done, compliance, up to deadline, reporting [inaudible 00:01:26] audit, and revise where we are to see do we need to improve anything.
Fred Barstein:
Right, because if you don’t have the meeting minutes, they didn’t happen, as far as the Department of Labors can say.
Galina Karpinska:
Because, again, mid-size company, you always have a lot of everyday operations which keeping you something that is not that way today you put always on the side.
Fred Barstein:
Right. Then the second question you brought is payroll integration. We know that’s really critical, but one of the questions, and sometimes people confuse to say the only way you can do payroll integration is your payroll provider also has to be your record keeper. Is that the case with you?
Galina Karpinska:
That’s not the case. Our payroll provider is not record keeper. We keeping principle as 401k platform. Why I did it, firstly, to minimize human errors. Specifically if you do not have just salary employees, you have temp employees, you have hourly employees whose deductions it’s different from payroll to payroll, even if it’s cents, but those cents, if you’re not properly invested in the money, which create a lot of problems to your plan. So payroll integration has been very helpful to automate everything. It’s been a little bit… You need to be careful to understand how to implement it, to work with people to get what you want. But once it’s done, you could really start enjoying the benefits of just reviewing with GL and approved contributions. It’s very helpful.
Fred Barstein:
Again, it’s your record keeper who’s stepping up and making sure that’s all happening and talking to your payroll provider, right?
Galina Karpinska:
Yes.
Fred Barstein:
Very good. Final question, a couple of things you learned that you may want to take back and implement when you leave the program?
Galina Karpinska:
Yeah, I would definitely would revise maybe more on education of employees.
Fred Barstein:
Education. Right.
Galina Karpinska:
Yes. We have a lot of people who contribute, but you need to understand the need to contribute more.
Fred Barstein:
You can always do better.
Galina Karpinska:
You can always do better. Yeah.
Fred Barstein:
Very good. Well, thank you for your time today.
Galina Karpinska:
Thank you.
Fred Barstein:
And thank you for watching 401k TV. Stay tuned.
