Understanding & Managing Retirement Plan Fees

David Guadagnoli presented the topic "Understanding & Managing Retirement Plan Fees," at an event sponsored by the New England Employee Benefits Council (NEEBC) on March 6, 2019.

With the recent increase in 401(k) and 403(b) litigations, it is a crucial that plan fiduciaries understand their defined contribution retirement plan fees. Not only should plan fiduciaries know what fees are being paid by their plan participants, they should ensure that these fees are "reasonable" and structured as equitably as possible. 

Topics discussed included:

• What are my total plan fees?
• What are investment fees, record-keeping & administration fees and advisory fees?
• What is revenue share?
• How to evaluate Pro-Rata versus Per Capita Fees?
• What is Fee Leveling?
• Should I run a Record-Keeper RFP? How do I evaluate my Record-Keeper’s services & fees?
• Should I run an Advisor RFP? How do I evaluate my Advisor’s services & fees?
• How do I obtain credible fee benchmarking data for Record-keeping, Plan Administration, Advisory, Investment Consulting and Co-Fiduciary Service Providers?
• How do I ascertain “necessary” services at “reasonable” cost?