Archives
A Guide to Fiduciary Prudence: Part 1, Who is a retirement plan fiduciary?
Last Updated: November 02, 2012
Like many people, I am a plan fiduciary to my employer’s 401(k) plan. Because of my background in employee benefits law, I am keenly aware of the role, risks and responsibilities associated with this fiduciary status under ERISA. Some people, however, are unaware that they are a plan fiduciary while others may be aware of their fiduciary status, but do not fully understand the scope of the risks, liabilities, duties and responsibilities that they have assumed as a result of their relationship to a retirement plan.
I will be writing a blog series in the coming months to help clarify some of the issues simply being a plan fiduciary present, and will help bring to light how potential risks may be mitigated. Several key elements should be addressed to help you properly manage your fiduciary responsibilities, and will therefore be topics in this blog series:
So ask yourself, “Do I have the discretionary authority over the management of plan assets or the administration of the plan?” If that answer is “yes,” then congratulations, you are a plan fiduciary!
In my next blog post, I’ll discuss the roles and responsibilities of the plan fiduciaries—stay tuned!
PCI’s archived blog entries are dated, the rules and statutes referenced may have changed. The analysis or guidance within these blog entries may have become stale, dated, or no longer accurate. PCI will not update or change these entries to reflect the latest analysis or development.
- Who is a plan fiduciary?
- What are the roles and responsibilities of a plan fiduciary?
- What are the risks of being a plan fiduciary?
- How can a retirement plan committee help manage the fiduciary oversight of a plan?
- Who makes a good retirement plan committee member?
- What should a committee meeting agenda be comprised of and how should committee meetings be properly memorialized?
- How can third party service providers limit plan sponsors’ fiduciary liability?
- Can fiduciaries insure themselves against any potential losses?
- Exercises any discretionary authority or control in the management of the plan or disposition of the plan’s assets OR
- Can or does render investment advice for a fee OR
- Has any discretionary authority or control in administering the plan
So ask yourself, “Do I have the discretionary authority over the management of plan assets or the administration of the plan?” If that answer is “yes,” then congratulations, you are a plan fiduciary!
In my next blog post, I’ll discuss the roles and responsibilities of the plan fiduciaries—stay tuned!
PCI’s archived blog entries are dated, the rules and statutes referenced may have changed. The analysis or guidance within these blog entries may have become stale, dated, or no longer accurate. PCI will not update or change these entries to reflect the latest analysis or development. 
