Items Your Annual Retirement Plan Review May Be Missing
As a plan sponsor, you are no stranger to the annual retirement plan review. And even though there are still months left in 2022, it is never too early to prepare. Although you may meet quarterly or semi-annually with your advisor, a yearly plan assessment is an opportunity to evaluate the health of your plan.
For other advisors, the focus of an annual review has to do with investments and fund line-ups and while this is important and should absolutely be addressed, your review should go further. We are going to discuss a few not-so-common items HFM Investment Advisors adds to your annual review checklist and what value they provide to you as the plan sponsor. With HFM, your review will assess five major areas: plan design, retirement readiness, fiduciary oversight, service provider due diligence and investment due diligence.
Plan Design
When discussing plan design, it is important to evaluate 3 key demographics: participation rate, deferral rate and diversification. If your plan suffers from low participation and deferral rates, as well as poor participant-driven investment decisions, you are not alone.
Participation Rates 1
• 92% (Auto-enrollment)
• 62% (Voluntary Enrollment)
Deferral Rates 2
• 10-15% (Industry recommendation)
• 7.6% (Average Deferral Rate)
Diversification1
• 99% (Balanced) Investment Strategy) *
• *For those Auto-enrolled
Assessing your company’s annual rates could shine light on auto features that may enhance your plan design. Implementing options such as auto-enrollment, auto-escalation and target-date or QDIA defaults may combat the common obstacles mentioned above.
Retirement Readiness
At the end of the day, the purpose of your plan is to prepare your employees for their ultimate goal of retirement. The design of your plan can help your participants prepare via defaults and automatic features, but can you do more to motivate and educate them?
Fiduciary Oversight
Your annual review is a great opportunity to pop open your fiduciary vault to organize, review and update your plan documents.
The documents may include:
• Investment Policy Statement (IPS)
• Education Policy Statement (EPS)
• Retirement Plan Charter
• Plan Documents and Annual Filings
• Service Agreements
Service Provider Due Diligence
While assessing the fees and services that each service provider offers, don’t forget to ask about new services and technologies. Tech develops quickly these days and your service providers may have updated websites, mobile apps and reporting software. Ask what is new and developing and if it has an impact on plan fees.
Investment Due Diligence
One of the costliest fiduciary missteps you can make is having an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) and not following it. It was listed previously in the fiduciary oversight section but is well worth another mention.
A, I, R, S, B, C, F. Listing the options for investment share classes may look like the letters you select during a Wheel of Fortune bonus round, but they do matter and should be discussed during your annual meeting.
Looking Ahead
It is just as important to look ahead during your annual review as it is to look back on the previous year. Since we are halfway through the year, consider what you want to discuss at your annual review, such as new features to improve participant outcomes or a plan benchmark to consider other vendors.
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GLASSBORO, NJ 08028
This information was developed as a general guide to educate plan sponsors and is not intended as authoritative guidance or tax/legal advice. Each plan has unique requirements, and you should consult your attorney or tax advisor for guidance on your specific situation.
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[1] Vanguard. “How America Saves 2021: Insights to Action.” June 2021. [2] “Another Record Year for Retirement Savings.” National Association of Plan Advisors, 17 Dec. 2020.HFM Investment Advisors, LLC (HFM) is a registered investment adviser located in Glassboro, NJ. HFM’s website is limited to the dissemination of general information pertaining to its advisory services, together with access to additional investment-related information, publications, and links. Accordingly, the publication of HFM’s website on the Internet should not be construed by any consumer and/or prospective client as HFM’s solicitation to effect, or attempt to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice, over the Internet. A copy of HFM’s current written disclosure statement discussing HFM’s business operations, services, and fees is available at the SEC’s investment adviser public disclosure website – www.adviserinfo.sec.gov or from HFM upon written request. HFM does not make any express or implied representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by HFM or any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to HFM’s website or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility therefor. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly.
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