Plan Year Changes and Short Plan Years: What Sponsors Must Re-Do
September 16, 2026
Changing your 401(k) plan year creates a short plan year – and a short plan year quietly resets testing, contribution math, notices and your Form 5500. Here is what plan sponsors must re-do, and who is responsible for each piece.
QACA and Auto-Escalation: What Sponsors Commit To in an Automatic Enrollment Design
September 15, 2026
A QACA automatic enrollment design is a trade: testing relief in exchange for binding contribution, vesting, notice and escalation promises. Here is what plan sponsors actually commit to.
Plan Committee Meeting Minutes: What Sponsors Should Record and Retain
September 14, 2026
Plan committee meeting minutes are the primary evidence that your retirement plan committee made prudent decisions. Here is what sponsors should record, review and retain.
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans: What Sponsors Commit To and When They Can Change It
September 13, 2026
A safe harbor 401(k) buys testing relief in exchange for a binding promise to employees. Here is what plan sponsors actually commit to, what documentation proves it, and the narrow paths to changing the design.
Nondiscrimination Testing Season: What Sponsors Must Supply and Approve
September 12, 2026
What employer plan sponsors must supply, review and approve during 401(k) nondiscrimination testing season – and where the fiduciary risk actually sits.
SPDs and Summaries of Material Modifications: What Sponsors Must Distribute and Keep
September 11, 2026
The summary plan description is the participant’s official description of your 401(k) plan, and the SMM is how you keep it current. Here is what sponsors must distribute, to whom, and what evidence to retain.
Fidelity Bonds and Fiduciary Insurance: What Every Plan Sponsor Must Carry
September 10, 2026
An ERISA fidelity bond is required by law. Fiduciary liability insurance is not. Most plan sponsors confuse the two – here is what each one covers and how to verify yours.
Plan Mergers and Spinoffs After an Acquisition: What Sponsors Must Reconcile
September 9, 2026
After a deal closes, merging or spinning off a 401(k) plan is a fiduciary act, not a paperwork chore. Here is what plan sponsors must reconcile, protect and document.
In-Service Distributions and Rollovers In: What Sponsors Must Approve and Document
September 8, 2026
In-service distributions and incoming rollovers look like paperwork, but each one is a decision the plan must be able to defend. Here is what sponsors must verify and document.
Plan Termination and Partial Termination: What Sponsors Owe Participants
September 7, 2026
Plan termination and partial termination are fiduciary events, not paperwork events. Here is what employers actually owe participants when a 401(k) plan winds down or a workforce reduction cuts the participant group.
