The Excellent Fiduciary Podcast: Recent Episodes
Roland|Criss
Insights into the practices required to satisfy the moral and legal requirements for executives and managers who are assigned to oversee the retirement and benefit plan assets of their enterprise's employees.
Traditional internal control methods for retirement, pension, and health and welfare plans are insufficient in the present business climate. Regulatory, legal, and cyber security events confirm it. Chief financial officers, human resources executives, and other senior business unit leaders comprise the class of individuals who manage employee benefit plans. This podcast discusses why many of their management practices have become outdated and what needs to do to make them current.
Prudent Performance drives employee benefit plan management excellence.
Leading employee benefit plan managers strive for Prudent Performance, described as consistently attaining goals while dealing with uncertainty in complying with the prudence rule. Learn what defines Prudent Performance and how it transforms fiduciary outcomes.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Prudent Performance drives excellence in employee benefit plan management. Learn how it's defined and how it transforms employee benefit plan outcomes.
Independent, thorough fiduciary committee assessments are becoming more crucial. Demands on committees are higher than ever as expectations for better retirement outcomes continue to grow. Committee evaluations can pinpoint areas that require improvement and enable members to assess their plan’s preparedness to satisfy participants and regulators.
Committee evaluations can pinpoint areas that require improvement…
Before starting an assessment, learn the four goals it should meet and the nine issues it should cover.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Most employee benefit plan committees operate outside the scope and purview of their employers’ cybersecurity leader. Traditional culture improvement efforts focusing exclusively on awareness are not causing a change in priorities among committees. That begs the question, is the human resources community paying attention to the warnings about the devastating effects of lax data security on employee benefit plans?
Traditional culture improvement efforts focusing exclusively on awareness are not causing a change in priorities among committees.
This podcast presents four steps HR executives can follow to change the order of their employee benefit plan committees’ cybersecurity priorities.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
The mistakes employers make in the administration of 401(k) and 403(b) plans are widespread and involve predictable errors. The first and most common error is employers’ failure to remit employee deferrals for deposits to employees’ retirement plan accounts on a timely basis. It should be no surprise then that deficiency is one of the most aggressive enforcement areas by the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of Labor.
The first and most common error is employers’ failure to remit employee deferrals for deposits to employees’ retirement plan accounts on a timely basis.
Learn the three steps your plan management program can include to avoid this mistake.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
According to Fidelity Investments, nearly one-half of the more than 1,200 retirement plans it surveyed may have new recordkeepers soon. Fidelity reported that the lead executives who manage those plans intend to commission a request for proposal (“RFP”) project to search the market for a potentially new recordkeeping vendor. New issues confront employee benefit plan committees that modify the traditional content of retirement plan RFPs.
According to Fidelity Investments, nearly one-half of the more than 1,200 retirement plans it surveyed may have new recordkeepers soon.
Two significant developments force modernization of RFP best practices for recordkeeping vendor searches. Hear them explained in this podcast.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Many human resources executives find themselves assigned to a committee that manages the investments in employee benefit plans like 401(k), 403(b), and company-funded pension plans. Seldom do HR leaders possess the academic background or experience of an investment professional. This podcast is intended to clarify the key issues that federal law and the courts expect plan fiduciaries to address and resolve with prudence.
Seldom do HR leaders possess the academic background or experience of an investment professional.
Human resources leaders who may feel out of their comfort zone when meeting with their investment-related employee benefit plan committee colleagues will gain confidence from the insights and tips offered in this episode.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Our guest expert, Daniel Williams, leads the employee benefit plan audit practice for LaPorte CPAs & Business Advisors and is a prominent leader in the public accounting profession on best practices for managing ERISA plans. His firm conducts a large number of plan audits annually.
In this podcast, you’ll learn how to avoid the nine most common operational deficiencies that get employers in serious trouble with the U.S. Department of Labor and the IRS. That information can help you implement new policies and provide you with ideas on how to ensure compliance with your plan’s governance rules and federal regulations.
Host
*Ronald E. Hagan, AIFA® is Chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series. His column The Excellent Fiduciary appears in each issue of the nationally published Journal of Compensation and Benefits.*
Guest Expert
*Daniel Williams, CPA, CCIFP,* is a director of audit and assurance Services, with a concentration on construction and employee benefit plan services at LaPorte CPAs & Business Advisors. INSIDE Public Accounting named LaPorte one of the “Top 200 Accounting Firms” for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.
Target-date funds (“TDF”) offer a long-term investment strategy based on holding a mix of stocks, bonds, and other investments (this mix is called an asset allocation) that automatically changes over time as retirement plan participants age.
According to public comments by Department of Labor officials, TDFs do not receive the same evaluation when selected, and scrutiny ongoing as other investment options. Severe consequences lurk for fiduciaries that add TDFs to their retirement plans’ investment options but fail to ensure their choices perform appropriately over time.
Our experts discuss what fiduciary committees can do to ensure they select and oversee TDFs properly. They present eight activities that form a best practices outline relevant for all defined contribution plans.
Host
*Ronald E. Hagan is Chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series. His column The Excellent Fiduciary appears in each issue of the nationally published Journal of Compensation and Benefits.*
Guest Expert
*Christine L. Denton is Group Executive for Roland|Criss’ Risk Practice Group. Christine provides a wide, in-depth variety of experience advising retirement plan committees on fiduciary best practices. She holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™ (AIFA®) accreditation and the Governance, Risk, and Compliance Professional (“GRCP”) certification. Christine is a member of the Employee Benefit Plan Cybersecurity Working Group, an industry task force. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Baylor University.*
A complex financial environment such as the one facing retirement plan committees brings a barrage of investment opinions from external advisors and an influx of inquiries from employees and their beneficiaries. This constant theorizing on potential investment strategies, adjustments, and outcomes can challenge the idea of adhering to simple principles. Fortunately, there are tangible steps you can take to help keep on a steady course, regardless of turbulent external factors. Tune in to this podcast and get four tips that will help ensure your peace of mind.
…there are tangible steps you can take to help keep on a steady course, regardless of turbulent external factors.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
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The executives who staff retirement plan committees tend not to come from the technology side of their enterprises. For that reason, cybersecurity can be challenging for those who carry a fiduciary duty for their plans. Yet cyber-attacks are a severe threat facing all types of employee benefit plans. This podcast is an excellent primer for those charged with overseeing their organization’s plans.
*The U.S. Department of Labor has made a fiduciary obligation
to implement and follow cybersecurity best practices.*
Host
*Ronald E. Hagan, AIFA® is Chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series. His column The Excellent Fiduciary appears in each issue of the nationally published Journal of Compensation and Benefits.*
*Contact*
Guest Expert
*Donny Shimamoto, CPA, CITP, CGMA is the founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC, an advisory-focused CPA firm providing innovation management and organizational development services. Donny is an internationally recognized thought leader and educator in accounting technology, emerging technologies, IT risk management, and organizational performance management. He is also the co-chair of the National Conference of Lawyers and CPAs. He earned a BBA degree in Accounting & Management Information Systems from the University of Hawaii.*
*Contact*
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Payroll errors are the leading reasons that employers violate fiduciary regulations governing retirement plans and the IRS’ rules. The consequences of those violations can create severe problems. Payroll internal control deficiencies regularly appear in the annual plan audits conducted by CPA firms. The IRS recently launched an amnesty-like pilot program that incentivizes employers to focus on their payroll systems during the IRS’ grace period. This podcast will cover the issues and present solutions.
*Employers are responsible for validating the accuracy of payroll for ERISA plan purposes,
not a plan’s vendors.*
Host
*Ronald E. Hagan is Chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series. His column The Excellent Fiduciary appears in each issue of the nationally published Journal of Compensation and Benefits.*
Guest Expert
*Kristi L. Arthur is Senior Director of Fiduciary Solutions for Roland|Criss. Kristi plays a key role in managing Roland|Criss’ fiduciary workflow processes for our clients. In this capacity she serves as the primary client interface for our large plan relationships and is adept in interpreting and administering retirement plans in accordance with the plan documents, coordinating with service providers, and implementing critical compliance controls.*
Complaints about excessive fees are high on the list of reasons that employees file claims against their employers with the U.S. Department of Labor. A new era of employee activism is underway in which plaintiff lawyers are finding fertile ground for litigation opportunities, catching many employers unprepared. A crisis is brewing. Get the white paper that accompanies this podcast.
Gaining control of costs has the potential for dramatic economic and risk improvements for employees and their employers.
Learn how to avoid danger and improve retirement outcomes for your enterprise’s employees.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Whether it’s called an employee benefit plan committee, investment committee, retirement plan committee, or some variant of those names, the governing body for programs organized under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act is a fiduciary committee. During the past five years, our nation’s retirement plan sector has undergone a tremendous increase in size and complexity, causing a sea change in governance. We’ll discuss the causes and implications of this sea change and present four success factors that fiduciary committees can apply to improve their performance.
The traits of an excellent fiduciary develop from two categories of skills or disciplines, and we’ll refer to them as process management skills and technical skills.
Hear where to start upgrading your committee’s process management approach and which technical skills are vital to achieving principled performance.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
The historical role of the Chief Human Resource Officer (“CHRO”) wasn’t at the center of risk management overall or concerned with the integration of governance, risk, and compliance (“GRC”) across business units. But the very nature of risk has changed, altering how we must do business. The rapid decentralization of America’s workforce from on-premise to at-home settings now requires consideration of the uncertainty of all types of risks and how best to use controls to reduce that uncertainty.
With human resources at the center of an organization’s development and on the front lines of threats to its personnel and their assets, GRC is the key to Principled Performance.
Our host examines the role played by an enterprise’s CHRO, how the demands on their skills sets have changed, and presents the outline of an action plan to stay current.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
A crackdown on mutual funds that pay indirect compensation to investment advisors and brokers is driving the need to decide wisely on the mutual fund share classes used by defined contribution plans. This podcast will help human resources mangers and other retirement plan fiduciaries gain a better understanding of how share classes differ and how they affect the risk culture of an enterprise.
Our guest expert reveals why federal regulators and class-action attorneys are obsessed with mutual fund share classes. Hear a concise description of five share classes and why retirement plan committee’s should have a clear understanding of their risks.
Host
*Ronald E. Hagan is Chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series. His column The Excellent Fiduciary appears in each issue of the nationally published Journal of Compensation and Benefits.*
Guest Expert
*Christine L. Denton is Group Executive for Roland|Criss’ Risk Practice Group. Christine provides a wide, in-depth variety of experience advising retirement plan committees on fiduciary best practices. She holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™ (AIFA®) accreditation and the Governance, Risk, and Compliance Professional (“GRCP”) certification. Christine has also held securities licenses issued by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), although those licenses are not currently active. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Baylor University.*
Cybersecurity is a modern tech-savvy buzzword that often makes non-IT peoples’ eyes glaze over. That mindset is very risky because cybersecurity ranks among the most challenging issues facing human resources, finance, and administration executives. The truth is that cybersecurity, while highly technical at the developer level, uses the same principles and concepts as many other business-related legal risks. Human resources leaders should be asking the right questions and taking steps to protect their employee benefit plans – and themselves – from cyberattacks
Why is cybersecurity a big deal?
This episode of the Excellent Fiduciary podcast includes ten questions that can equip leaders with insights that fuel a comprehensive response to regulatory pressure and threats in the cyber landscape. Our host also provides eight steps for upgrading a committee’s management framework.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Executives who serve on retirement plan oversight committees rely on the protection the law offers for those who can show they manage investment decisions using a “prudent process.” Scores of fiduciary breach lawsuits filed over the last several years focus their allegations on the employers’ failures to follow such a process. A new trend is unfolding, though, and it will challenge enterprises that show weakness in their management methods to keep pace. Recent cases go beyond the issue of process and strike directly at the performance of specific investment options offered by the retirement plans.
A sea change is underway that expands the accountability of retirement plan fiduciaries.
This podcast addresses how process management and investment performance in qualified retirement plans intersect and offers tips on confronting the trend toward expanded fiduciary accountability.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Over the past few years, there’s been a dramatic change in the responsibilities and the risks carried by human resources departments. Examples include widespread overcharging by vendors for services to retirement plans and the addition of cybersecurity to the list of regulated fiduciary duties. So while information technology and internal audit managers have implemented governance, risk, and compliance (“GRC”) standards, human resources executives have been slower to adopt and realize the benefits.
A GRC implementation for employee benefit plans isn’t a static state of being; in a sense, it is the journey as much as it is the destination.
Forward-thinking organizations view GRC as an integrated collection of all capabilities necessary to support enterprise-level and employee benefit plan programs. Just as their IT and finance counterparts benefited from their embrace of formal GRC, employee benefit plan managers and fiduciaries are beginning to reap the same rewards. Human resources leaders find that GRC doesn’t burden their operations; it supports and improves them
Our host will discuss how GRC standards emerged and why fiduciaries need to ensure their qualified employee benefit plans operate within a GRC framework.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
An investment policy statement or IPS is a written declaration intended to provide a defined benefit or defined contribution plan’s investment fiduciaries with a framework for decision-making regarding various types or categories of investments. An improperly designed IPS or the failure to adhere to an IPS’ provisions can spell trouble with regulators and plaintiff lawyers who represent participants in breach of fiduciary lawsuits. A periodic examination of an investment committee’s conformance to its plan’s IPS is essential for maintaining confident assurance at the committee level.
Our host will discuss recent events that caused the written investment policy to emerge as a vital plan governance document, why a periodic formal review is needed, and the seven key topics on which an IPS process audit focuses.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Interest in environmental, social, and governance or ESG investing through corporate retirement plans is expanding rapidly. A new regulation proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor may increase certain risks facing fiduciaries who might wish to embrace ESG investing more fully.
In this episode of the Excellent Fiduciary podcast, we’ll review the status of the federal government’s efforts to encourage the use of mutual funds that reflect investment managers’ consideration of ESG factors when constructing their funds. One thing is certain, plan fiduciaries should monitor the ESG landscape closely.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Technology-empowered threats to the security and confidentiality of retirement plan assets and data are exploding. The threat landscape includes internal gateways through which cyber intrusions, third-party players, and an enterprise’s employees are risk sources. Typical fiduciary management methods largely lack a formal interface with the information technology function and its storehouse of expertise, further complicating the situation.
It’s up to plan fiduciaries to interpret the U.S. Department of Labor’s cybersecurity guidance and change their operations to align with its provisions. This podcast offers an action plan that will help chief financial officers and human resources leaders feel more confident about regulatory compliance and the protection of plan assets and data.
Host
*Ronald E. Hagan is Chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series. His column The Excellent Fiduciary appears in each issue of the nationally published Journal of Compensation and Benefits.*
Guest Expert
*Christine L. Denton is Group Executive for Roland|Criss’ Risk Practice Group. Christine provides a wide, in-depth variety of experience advising retirement plan committees on fiduciary best practices. She holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™ (AIFA®) accreditation and the Governance, Risk, and Compliance Professional (“GRCP”) certification. Christine is a member of the Employee Benefit Plan Cybersecurity Working Group, an industry task force. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Baylor University.*
Unintended violations of fiduciary duty take place daily in employee benefit plans (especially retirement plans) qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The cause is a lack of clarity about where the hazards lurk for the most part.
The point at which a retirement plan and a payroll system intersect is a breeding ground for the most common violations of fiduciary duty. And they can be the most unwieldy to fix. What’s more, the annual financial audit performed by a retirement plan’s CPA won’t necessarily catch all payroll deficiencies that might exist because a CPA’s audit is focused primarily on financial transactions, not operational processes.
Our host for this episode of the Excellent Fiduciary podcast, will expose the causes that foster payroll-related violations of federal pension law and present the cures.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Tune in to this podcast and learn how retirement plan fees worsen an enterprise’s risk and how to prevent them from hurting your organization’s finances and reputation.
The fees paid to businesses that provide services like recordkeeping and investment advice are under intense scrutiny. Many executives who negotiate their retirement plan vendors’ costs are just now learning the seriousness of the consequences of overpaying.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Cybersecurity is confusing and complex for many in the benefit plan community, and it’s not a topic that excites discussion in human resources circles. Due to the technical nature of information technology systems and networks, it would be easy to think of compliance with the Department of Labor’s cybersecurity rules as an IT issue. But is that thinking accurate?
The goal of this episode of the Excellent Fiduciary podcast is to simplify the subject for employee benefit plan managers and clarify who is responsible for compliance.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
A strong risk culture helps avert incidents in the operation of employee benefit plans that can damage corporate reputations and trigger economic penalties. Across the retirement plan industry, the level of scrutiny has grown both from regulators and litigation lawyers who represent disgruntled plan participants. To deal with these challenges, employers are seeking ways to integrate their enterprise risk management approach into human resources operations.
This podcast discusses the reasons that risk culture must be a priority for C-level executives and employee benefit plan managers. It presents six steps for developing and sustaining a robust risk management environment.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Businesses that provide recordkeeping services to 401(k) type retirement plans are merging at a dizzying rate. The hope is that these continued transactions are favorable for the industry, leading to enhancements in technology and services, with economies of scale driving better experiences and outcomes for plan sponsors and their participants.
But consolidation doesn’t automatically mean improved innovation. The frequency of these changes and the different benefits and challenges that can come from each transaction make it as important as ever for plan fiduciaries to perform periodic due diligence of the marketplace.
Learn what plan fiduciaries should do when their recordkeeper merges.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
To be successful in the fiduciary role, executives and managers must possess certain traits not typically developed during their academic experience or in their full-time corporate functions. Unfortunately, those traits are not all intuitive. Learn about the four major skill sets that define the disciplines facing those who serve on employee benefit plan committees.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Some retirement plan recordkeepers and third-party administrators started a trend that’s catching on in the vendor market. Many have added a new feature which they call “3(16).” They claim or infer that they relieve employers of a vital legal fiduciary duty. What’s behind the hype? Are vendors’ claims legitimate? Learn what the U.s Department of Labor says. In this podcast you’ll gain insights from frontline experts.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Technology-empowered threats to the security and confidentiality of retirement plan assets and data are exploding. Current fiduciary management methods largely lack a formal interface with the information technology function and its storehouse of expertise. These two realities demand that fiduciary committees embrace their enterprises’ information technology departments in a new era of collaboration. During this podcast, we’ll discuss how to bridge the gap between a fiduciary committee and an IT group.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Over the past few years, executives and managers in all industry sectors have asked us a variety of questions related to fiduciary practices. This podcast is a collection of inquiries, arranged by major topics that appeared recently in our inbox. Topics include: Is a fiduciary committee required? Where are the fiduciary governance rules defined? Why is governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) important? What does prudent selection of vendors mean? Is payroll a fiduciary function? What makes an investment choice prudent? and Should fiduciaries hire the lowest cost vendors?
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
One of the more troubling aspects of being an investment fiduciary is responding to wild swings in the U.S. securities markets. This podcast episode discusses the duty that confronts retirement plan managers in the face of market volatility. You’ll hear the outline of an action plan that guides investment and benefit plan committees on how to do the right things the right way.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Most human resources executives know about the guidance announced in April 2021 by the DOL’s enforcement arm, the Employee Benefits Security Administration or EBSA. The EBSA’s release covered three different groups; plan fiduciaries, service providers, and plan participants. Our first two podcasts in this series discussed best practices for plan fiduciaries and vendors. This podcast focuses on the third group, plan participants. The EBSA’s guidance is titled Online Security Tips. Hear our host describe a list of topics that you may use to communicate with your plan’s participants on this subject.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
When the U.S. Department of Labor issues a new rule or guidance on fiduciary responsibility, it usually takes a long period before it gets its audits of plan sponsors underway. That turned out not to be the case with the DOL’s cybersecurity guidance. Field audits conducted by the DOL’s enforcement arm, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”), began almost immediately in June 2021 after the publication of the guidance. Such an intense audit rollout should motivate plan fiduciaries to get prepared.
*DATA SECURITY POLICY CONSIDERATIONS*
The topics covered in the cybersecurity guidance are titled Tips for Hiring a Service Provider with Strong Cybersecurity Practices; Cybersecurity Program Best Practices; and Online Security Tips. This podcast will orient listeners to the EBSA’s test of an employer’s conformance to the proper methods for selecting cyber-ready vendors for enterprise sponsored qualified retirement plans.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
The typical enterprise combines multiple technology platforms and programs to deliver payroll and retirement plan solutions to its employees. The point at which payroll and a retirement plan intersect is a breeding ground for fiduciary failures. Payroll deficiencies can cause substantial financial penalties and reputational harm for enterprises that sponsor 401(k) and 403(b) type retirement plans. The mix of systems and vendors often pushes managers to operate and monitor programs that lack integration leading to confusion, frustration, and errors.
*ELIMINATE YOUR EXPOSURE TO FIDUCIARY VIOLATIONS FROM PAYROLL DEFICIENCIES*
The fragmentation of systems is the primary reason payroll deficiencies top the list of fiduciary duty violations with the IRS and U.S. Department of Labor. The challenge of reconciling payroll and retirement plans adds stress to the management culture and can negatively affect an enterprise’s budget. Fiduciary committees and human resources executives have an opportunity to meet the challenge without upsetting their operational complex. Listen to our podcast and learn from a Roland|Criss study of the relationship between payroll deficiencies and fiduciary violations. You’ll find the six categories of weaknesses we encountered to be eye-opening. We’ll cover some perspectives on the study’s findings and provide some guidance on curing the defects inherent in many payroll operations to help you and your team be more successful.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
A steady uptick in the number of employers whose retirement plan operations fail to conform to even primary standards of care is troubling. We’ve studied the causes and reveal them in this episode. Hear how you can learn from the missteps of others and avoid trouble.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
The use of an RFP to periodically test the market for employee benefit plan services is not new to experienced human resources and fiduciary committees. What is new, however, is the importance of cybersecurity and the extent to which vendors are able to protect Personally Identifiable Information.
In this podcast, learn about the factors driving regulatory efforts to get employers engaged in validating their plans’ vendors’ cybersecurity readiness. You will also hear about the questions your next RFP should contain.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
This episode of the Excellent Fiduciary podcast will take you inside the structure of a properly constructed committee.
Many executives and managers who are assigned to their employer’s retirement plan oversight committees lack clarity about their duties and risks. This podcast will clear the confusion.
About our host
*Ronald E. Hagan* is chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee. Ron has over 25 years of experience helping clients examine and improve their risk management practices for employee benefit plans qualified under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is the engaging host of Roland|Criss’ weekly podcast and quarterly webinar series.
Less than a decade ago, “trust” was a go-to descriptor for employers who looked for assurance to providers of various investment and administration services to their retirement plans, group health plans, and foundations. That’s changed. Learn from experts on the front lines why trust has faded and what you can do about it.
Employers that offer health and welfare plans to their employees face a legal duty to ensure that fees paid to the plans’ providers are reasonable. Retirement plan sponsors have faced the same requirement since a reasonable fee rule was made effective in 2012. The burden of compliance with that rule has expanded. Hear what “compliance” means for employers. This podcast presents four best practices that employers are using to stay ahead of federal regulators.
Retirement plan fiduciaries are informed about the Rollover Advice Rule and how it impacts their risk culture. Ronald Hagan, Chairman of Roland|Criss’ Risk Standards Committee hosts this episode. He has over 20 years experience advising retirement plan and investment committees on best practices for meeting legal fiduciary standards of care.
Following up on our last podcast, this episode discusses the specific ERISA plan operations failures that bring on penalties from the IRS and the Department of Labor. The most common cause might surprise you. Learn what highly knowledgable human resources executives are doing to eliminate the risks.