Defined contribution plans have evolved significantly, but one persistent challenge remains: many plan sponsors are still not fully equipped to manage their responsibilities. Despite overseeing critical retirement benefits, fiduciaries often receive little formal training and are left to learn on the job.
A growing concern across the industry is the lack of preparedness among those responsible for plan oversight. Many are unaware of their fiduciary duties under ERISA, including the potential for personal liability, and continue to make avoidable mistakes in areas like investment monitoring, fee transparency, and benchmarking.
Operational failures, weak cybersecurity oversight, and insufficient monitoring of service providers further increase risk. At the same time, many plans rely too heavily on default settings and fall short in providing meaningful participant education.
As plans grow in size and complexity, improving fiduciary knowledge and strengthening oversight is essential to better retirement outcomes.
Read more insights in Fred Barstein’s latest WealthManagement.com article, “Ten Mistakes Plan Sponsors Make Managing Retirement Plans.”
