By offering a retirement plan, business owners have a legal responsibility to make prudent decisions regarding the plan’s management. These decisions include selecting investments, choosing options like brokerage accounts or loans, and picking the right service providers. Many of these decisions require an in-depth understanding of plan costs.
There’s the challenge. Retirement plans have so many fee types it is rare that a plan sponsor can easily calculate the true cost of their plan.
Fred Reish, arguably the leading retirement plan attorney in the country, recently provided a few reasons why it’s important to make the effort to understand what’s being paid.
The article goes on to describe two of the most common hidden fees and potential conflicts the employer should be aware of.
Employers shouldn’t just evaluate fees when they set up the plan, they should also monitor fees and expenses throughout the life of the plan to be sure the costs continue to be reasonable as assets grow.
