Excess Deferrals and Contributions Over the Annual Limits: What Sponsors Must Correct
October 1, 2026
Excess deferrals and contributions over the annual limits are an operational failure the plan sponsor must find, correct and document. Here is how they happen and how sponsors fix them.
Late Form 5500 Filings and the DFVC Program: What Sponsors Should Do
September 30, 2026
A late Form 5500 is one of the most common plan problems and one of the most fixable. Here is how sponsors use the DOL’s Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance program, what it covers, and what it doesn’t.
ERISA Budget Accounts and Revenue Sharing: How Sponsors Must Allocate and Use Them
September 29, 2026
Revenue sharing credited to an ERISA budget account is plan money. Here is how sponsors should track it, what it can pay for, and how to allocate what is left.
Correcting a Missed Deferral Election or Missed Enrollment: What Sponsors Owe
September 28, 2026
A missed deferral election or missed enrollment is not a payroll hiccup. It is an operational failure the plan sponsor must find, fix, fund and document.
Plan Trustee Duties and Trust Accounting: What Sponsors Must Oversee
September 27, 2026
Your 401(k) assets sit in a trust, and someone is legally responsible for them. Here is what plan trustee duties actually cover, how trust accounting works, and what the sponsor still has to oversee.
Electronic Disclosure Safe Harbors: How Sponsors Can Deliver Notices Online and Prove It
September 26, 2026
Emailing a notice is easy. Proving it satisfied ERISA’s delivery rules is not. Here is how the electronic disclosure safe harbors work for plan sponsors, and what to keep as evidence.
Plan Asset Valuation and Hard-to-Value Investments: What Sponsors Must Support
September 25, 2026
Plan asset valuation is a fiduciary duty. When a plan holds real estate, private funds, limited partnerships or closely held stock, the sponsor has to support the number on the Form 5500 and on every participant statement.
Part-Time and Long-Term Part-Time Employees: What 401(k) Sponsors Must Track
September 24, 2026
The long-term part-time rule turns hours tracking into a fiduciary duty. Here is what 401(k) sponsors must count, who becomes eligible, what changes in testing and vesting, and how to prove the plan got it right.
Plan Forfeiture vs. Suspense Accounts After a Contribution Error: What Sponsors Must Do
September 23, 2026
When an employer over-contributes to a 401(k), the money doesn’t simply come back. Here is how forfeiture and suspense accounts differ and what plan sponsors must decide and document.
Blackout Notices and Recordkeeper Conversions: What Sponsors Must Tell Participants
September 22, 2026
A recordkeeper conversion suspends participant rights for a period. Here is what the blackout notice must say, who must receive it, and how sponsors prove they sent it.
