Prohibited Transactions: What Plan Sponsors Must Watch in Their Own 401(k)
September 5, 2026
Prohibited transactions are the one area of ERISA where good intentions do not help. Here is what plan sponsors must watch in their own 401(k) plan.
Plan Loan Defaults and Deemed Distributions: What Sponsors Must Track
September 4, 2026
Plan loan defaults create reporting, tracking and fiduciary obligations for the employer. Here is what plan sponsors must monitor and document.
Required Minimum Distributions: The Sponsor’s Side of the Duty
September 2, 2026
Required minimum distributions are usually treated as the participant’s problem. Operationally, they are the plan’s problem — and a missed one is an operational failure in your plan, not just a participant tax issue.
Service Provider Fee Disclosures: What Sponsors Must Review Under 408(b)(2)
August 31, 2026
A 408(b)(2) fee disclosure is not a filing you archive. It is the document that lets a plan sponsor decide whether the fees the plan pays are reasonable for the services delivered.
Participant Data Feeds: Reconciling Payroll and Recordkeeper Records
August 30, 2026
Your payroll system and your recordkeeper should describe the same plan. When they don’t, the plan is being operated wrong. Here is the sponsor’s reconciliation procedure.
Beneficiary Designations: The 401(k) Records Sponsors Discover Too Late
August 29, 2026
Missing or stale 401(k) beneficiary designations surface at the worst possible moment. Here is the sponsor-side procedure for collecting, verifying, storing and auditing them.
Uncashed Distribution Checks: A Plan Sponsor’s Tracking and Escheatment Playbook
August 28, 2026
Uncashed distribution checks remain plan assets and remain a fiduciary responsibility. Here is how plan sponsors track, search, reissue and document them.
QDROs: What Plan Sponsors Must Do When a Domestic Relations Order Arrives
August 27, 2026
A domestic relations order is a fiduciary event, not a paperwork errand. Here is the sponsor’s review, segregation and payment procedure.
Plan Document Restatements: What Sponsors Sign and Why It Matters
August 26, 2026
Restatement packets arrive looking like housekeeping. They are the legal terms of your 401(k) plan. Here is what plan sponsors should check before signing.
Plan Document vs. Operations vs. Notices: What Happens When Your 401(k) Records Disagree
August 24, 2026
Most 401(k) audit findings trace back to one thing: the plan document, day-to-day operations and participant notices describing three different plans. Here is how plan sponsors reconcile them.
