Corporate Retirement Plans

When many people hear the words, corporate retirement plans, they often think of extremely large companies with countless employees. The reality is far different. If you are a business owner, with or without additional employees, there are vast opportunities for you to benefit, while potentially creating current day tax benefits in the process. Our focus within the Corporate Retirement Plans Department is to provide the platforms, design, support, and execution for your goals.

If you were to start a corporate retirement plan, or if one already exists within your organization, as an employer and sponsor of a 401(k) plan, your company has a fiduciary duty to its participants. This means you must select the appropriate service provider(s) at a reasonable cost, determine an optimal plan design, choose and monitor investments, keep up with new legislative changes, ensure the plan is administered properly, and educate and inform plan participants.  The goal is to have a retirement plan that motivates employees to reach their retirement goals. While also helping you and your organization to recruit and retain valuable team members.

When we discuss the prior paragraph with our business owner clients, many questions tend to arise…….

• How do you know if your company is meeting these challenges?
• When selecting service providers or investments – what are the criteria?
• How do you know if your plan is “working”?
• Does your company have the personnel/resources to handle these responsibilities alone?
• How do you know that you are in compliance with ongoing regulation changes, including the new fee disclosure rules?

Unless your company employs dedicated employees with 401(k) expertise who focus on managing your employee retirement plan, you should consider hiring a retirement plan advisor. A retirement plan advisor who specializes in 401(k) plans can help you and your employees get the most out of their plan.

We work exclusively for you – not for a company selling investment products.  We are fully independent in making our recommendations to you and your employees. Simply put, the only recommendations we make represent the platforms and solutions that are in your and your employees best interest.

We realize that maintaining an appropriate retirement plan for your company can seem like a substantial task. Especially when you consider all of the effort and energy that goes into running your business.  Our retirement plan services and platform are designed specifically to give you the peace of mind that your plan is being administered properly.

Our services and platform address the following:

1. Current 401(k) Plan Analysis/Report Card.

   We benchmark the fees, services and participation metrics of your plan against similar plans using industry leading research.  This service satisfies the fiduciary obligations under both ERISA and the new 408(b)(2) fee disclosure rules.  We then make recommendations for any changes to your plan to reduce costs and improve service for your participants.

2. Plan Design Consulting.

   A review of the plan design is very important because provisions can make a big difference in whether your plan maximizes the contribution and tax-related benefits available. These provisions address matching contribution formulas, cross-tested profit sharing allocations, qualification and eligibility issues, and merger and acquisition situations. We will work closely with the provider’s administration experts to ensure that all available aspects of plan design are considered.

3. Assisting in Investment Policy Statement (IPS) Design.

   As a plan sponsor, you can minimize your fiduciary liability by implementing an IPS. An IPS outlines a detailed, prudent plan of action for the plan’s investment managers and advisors to follow. It describes the plan’s investment philosophy, risk tolerance and long-term goals to help guide decisions made regarding the plan. Because the IPS is in writing, it helps prevent misunderstandings between you and the plan’s advisors.

4. Ongoing Plan Reviews.

   We review your plan operational metrics such as participation levels, deferral percentages, loans, non-discrimination testing, enrollment and communication services.  We also prepare performance analysis of investments utilized by the plan versus benchmarks and/or peer groups. In addition we monitor funds selected by the plan sponsor for style drift and correlation with fund investment objectives stated in the IPS; and provide regulatory and compliance updates.

5. Managing Employee Communication and Investment Education.

   We believe that coordinating enrollment meetings and providing ongoing investment education for participants regarding plan options is a valuable part of our service. That’s why we will be available to your employees by phone and in person for individual consultation. If enrollment and/or education teams are necessary, we will coordinate those efforts.

6. Customized Financial and Estate Planning for Employees.

   Finally, we will educate plan participants about distribution alternatives, provide retirement cash flow analysis, and consult with retirees regarding investment asset allocation. In addition, we are able to offer specific education to all  participants, in the areas of College Planning, Social Security Planning, Women and Investing, Divorce Planning, Insurance Analysis/Planning (both for individuals and the business itself), as well as Estate and Trust Services directly through The Financial Guys in-house Legal Department.

When you work with us you gain a valuable advisory and time-saving resource that will help you develop and maintain a solid strategy for your retirement plan.  We are committed to providing you with the personalized attention and involvement that you and your employees require. With each corporate client, our focus is to benefit the business owner (both from retirement and present tax-advantaged scenarios).  Simply put, we work each and every day to help you manage your 401(k) plan properly and ultimately improve your employees “retirement results”.

Within the Corporate Retirement Plans division at The Financial Guys, we have a saying: “The best work we do for our clients has always begun with a simple conversation”. If you would like to talk about your retirement plan, please call we are truly happy to discuss your specific scenario. As well as provide an existing retirement plan “report card”, without any cost or obligation to you. For additional information, or for any items you would like to discuss, please don’t hesitate to call. (716) 633.1515