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.
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.
