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A retirement plan may have one or more fiduciaries who have distinct responsibilities, though many individuals and committees may serve in multiple fiduciary roles. Here is a brief overview of the categories of fiduciaries.
In September, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released an Interpretive Bulletin that updates guidance on audits of benefit plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The updated guidelines are intended to help determine when a qualified public accountant is independent for the purpose of auditing and rendering an opinion on the Form 5500. With the new guidance, DOL removes what it describes as certain “outdated and unnecessarily restrictive provisions” and reorganizes other provisions for clarity.
Most companies and organizations’ human resources departments and C-suites are seeking efficiencies and risk mitigation for their entities. For those, and a myriad of other, reasons 3(38) fiduciary discretionary investment management services are getting a closer look by plan sponsors.
The coronavirus relief includes a “temporary rule preventing partial plan terminations” for plan sponsors of defined contribution retirement plans. The provision specifically states, “A plan shall not be treated as having a partial termination (within the meaning of 4119(d)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) during any plan year which includes the period beginning on March 13, 2020 and ending on March 31, 2021, if the number of active participants covered by the plan on March 31, 2021 is at least 80 percent of the number of active participants covered by the plan on March 13, 2020.”