Fiduciary Responsibility

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The retirement plan landscape is ever evolving. We distill the details so you don’t have to!

We’ve corralled the best news from inside the beltway – not only regulations, but also new legislation from Congress as well as relevant guidance from the IRS and Department of Labor. In true DWC fashion, we don’t just repackage a recitation of the rules, we provide our thoughts and commentary about what those rules mean to you.

We know cash balance rules can be intimidating! Settle into the Cash Balance Corner and let us break it down for you.

Have 401(k) questions? We have 401(k) answers! We bring you answers to many of the common questions we receive.

A behind-the-scenes look not at how the sausage is made, but why we make it the way we do. (Hint: It’s all about the best interests of the client.)

We’re all about learning from other people’s (alleged) mistakes. We might not be attorneys, but we still follow benefits-related cases and summarize lessons and key take-aways. No hourly fee needed for these insights!

A deeper dive into retirement plan topics doesn’t have to be headache-inducing. Our Pension Primer articles provide depth of information without depth of jargon!

01/24/25

DWC | 01/24/2025

ESG Isn't Dead...Yet

We are compliance geeks and not investment professionals, so it’s not often that we wade into the investment waters with our posts; however, a recent district court case out of Texas caught our ...

DWC | 10/22/2024

Fiduciary Duties & Due Diligence

Understanding what it means to be a retirement plan fiduciary is simultaneously very simple and quite complex. An attorney we know gave this very simple explanation about how plan fiduciaries should ...

DWC | 10/22/2024

How to Select Retirement Plan Service Providers | Get the eBook

Are you a Plan Sponsor? Then it's your fiduciary duty to hire and oversee the industry service providers for your plan. Hopefully your current selection criteria is not limited to out-of-pocket costs ...

DWC | 06/18/2024

Retirement Plan Investments & Participant Communications

A retirement plan’s investment menu and the communication campaign are probably the two most visible aspects of any retirement plan from the participants’ perspective. They can go a long way in ...

DWC | 06/8/2024

Download the TPA Due Diligence Guide

TPA errors can be extremely costly.

DWC | 06/8/2024

Retirement Plan Service Provider Selection Checklists

Be sure you're doing your due diligence. Plan sponsors have a fiduciary duty to hire and oversee the industry service providers for retirement plans, and your selection process should not be limited ...

DWC | 12/8/2020

CARES Act Relief for Retirement Plan Loan Payments is Ending, Now What?

Facts Earlier this year, we implemented the coronavirus relief provisions that allowed our participants to suspend loan payments for the remainder of 2020. As a result of reduced hours and other ...

DWC | 09/1/2020

Is There an "Easy Button" for Setting Up a New Retirement Plan?

Facts As a small business owner, I’m constantly looking for cost-effective ways to improve the benefits I offer my employees. My industry is a competitive one, and it’s important to me to have a ...

DWC | 05/19/2020

Should We Make Up for Earnings Lost as a Result of a Delayed Distribution?

Facts Over the past several months, our turnaround times for normal business processes have lagged somewhat as we have adjusted operations in response to the various stay-at-home orders. When ...

DWC | 09/12/2019

Pension Pontifications | Q3 2019

All of us here at DWC thrive on the really geeky stuff, and some of the best discussions start with our pontifications about how different topics impact our clients and our industry. We decided to ...

DWC | 09/11/2019

Meet the MEPs: Grab Bag

The Department of Labor’s new regulations that expand the availability of multiple employer plans cover quite a bit of ground. In previous posts, we’ve explored Association MEPs, PEO MEPs, Corporate ...

DWC | 08/20/2019

Who Are All the Providers Servicing My Plan & What Do They Do?

Facts I sponsor a small 401(k) plan for my employees. Sometimes, I get confused about which service provider to go to for different plan-related questions. Time and efficiency are important to me ...

DWC | 03/14/2019

Pension Pontifications | Q1 2019

DWC | 12/6/2018

Q4 Pension Pontifications

DWC | 10/11/2018

Plan Sponsors & Fiduciaries: Here's What You Should Be Watching

DWC stays on top of what's trending, and our self-proclaimed pension geeks often offer their insights in industry publications. As we transition into the fourth quarter the theme has been, "What Plan ...

DWC | 07/26/2018

How Plan Sponsors Can be Better Fiduciaries (With or Without the Rule)

Whether a company is small or large, chances are it offers employees a 401(k). But this well-intentioned benefit has become target practice for attorneys, with lawsuits against companies ranging from ...

DWC | 06/12/2018

Is Bitcoin a Realistic 401(k) Investment Option?

Facts Someone would have to be living under a rock for the last year or so not to have noticed all the talk about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency. The values have fluctuated quite a bit, but all the ...

DWC | 04/10/2018

What Is The Difference Between Fiduciary Liability Insurance and a Fidelity Bond?

Facts My company sponsors a 401(k) plan. With everything that has been in the news about retirement plan fiduciaries and some of the lawsuits against them, we are trying to decide whether or not we ...

DWC | 06/22/2017

Timeless Tips for Selecting Plan Service Providers

Adam C. Pozek | 06/26/2012

What You Thought You Knew About Revenue Sharing

Ever see the movie Men In Black? One of my favorite lines is when Tommy Lee Jones says to Will Smith, “Fifteen hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred ...

Adam C. Pozek | 05/19/2011

Mark Twain, Elves and Real Estate in 401(k) Plans | Part 2

In Part 1 of this post, I discussed some of the DOL rules that can make real estate not all it’s cracked up to be as a 401(k) investment. Here in Part 2, we will take look at some IRS wrenches that ...

Adam C. Pozek | 04/25/2011

Mark Twain, Elves and Real Estate in 401(k) Plans | Part 1

“Real estate doesn't interest me. It's no doubt a great flaw in my personality, but I can't think in terms of boundaries. Those imaginary lines are as unreal to me as elves and pixies.” -- Kurt ...

Adam C. Pozek | 03/17/2011

Werewolves of Pension

I was recently asked to write an article on ERISA Section 404(c). As I contemplated how to approach the article, I recalled many situations in which I have heard 404(c) pitched as the mythical silver ...

Adam C. Pozek | 02/24/2011

Reasonableness Requirement Is Not New

An article appeared yesterday on CFO.com entitled “New 401(k) Obligations Heaped on CFOs” and it carried a tagline stating “New disclosure rules abound, but pay close attention or you could be sued ...

Adam C. Pozek | 03/10/2010

Weighing In on the 3(21) vs. 3(38) Debate

Several weeks ago, I had a lengthy conversation with a prospective client (we’ll call her Alice) and her investment advisor. After the standard dialogue about fees, service guarantees, etc., the ...

Adam C. Pozek | 02/21/2010

In Search of the Elusive Non-ERISA 403(b)

Crikey! We’ve just discovered the rare non-ERISA 403(b) plan meandering along, oblivious to such details as filing Form 5500 or worrying about fiduciary responsibility. Wait…could it be this harmless ...

Adam C. Pozek | 01/25/2010

Rethinking Participant Direction of 401(k) Investments

As an industry, we have spent a great deal of time over the last 2 years discussing issues like investment advice, default investments and fiduciary responsibility ostensibly for the purpose of ...

Adam C. Pozek | 12/7/2009

Is Cheapest Always Best?

This was the subject of quite a lengthy debate in an online, 401(k)-related discussion group a little while back. It quickly amassed quite a few comments. While the discussion took a few twists and ...

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Pension Primer

Decoding the Alphabet Soup: What’s With All the Acronyms | Part 6

Decoding the Alphabet Soup: What’s With All the Acronyms | Part 5

Decoding the Alphabet Soup: What’s With All the Acronyms | Part 4

In Case of Emergency, (Don't) Break Plan!

ESG Isn't Dead...Yet

Form 5500 – File It Late or Incomplete?

"Complete Control" with Recommended Contributions

“Cover Me” with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

10 Common Retirement Plan Compliance Failures Found by the IRS

2020 DOL Enforcement Stats: Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

2020 Retirement Plan Tax Deductions - It's Not Too Late

401(k) Distribution Rules: After Taking a Hardship Distribution, How Quickly Must a Participant Stop 401(k) Contributions?

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Fiduciary Responsibility

Extra! Extra! Stay up to date on the latest news about the DWC team.

The retirement plan landscape is ever evolving. We distill the details so you don’t have to!

We know cash balance rules can be intimidating! Settle into the Cash Balance Corner and let us break it down for you.

Have 401(k) questions? We have 401(k) answers! We bring you answers to many of the common questions we receive.

A behind-the-scenes look not at how the sausage is made, but why we make it the way we do. (Hint: It’s all about the best interests of the client.)

We’re all about learning from other people’s (alleged) mistakes. We might not be attorneys, but we still follow benefits-related cases and summarize lessons and key take-aways. No hourly fee needed for these insights!

A deeper dive into retirement plan topics doesn’t have to be headache-inducing. Our Pension Primer articles provide depth of information without depth of jargon!

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