Retirement Plans

In this scenario, this privately held business (Plan Sponsor) is a professional services provider that has thrived in good times and, thanks to the owners' sacrifices, survived through the bad. Let's call them "PSP Inc." With the frugality that comes with having to make tough decisions to survive, this Plan Sponsor chose to work with Sample Mutual Fund Company/Deep Discount Provider. With this decision, the owners thought, "Who could criticize us?"

When we have a chance to meet with owners of businesses like this, we often find the following opportunities for them to upgrade their plan:

1. The investment options in the plan are mostly (or all) proprietary of the Plan Provider and are not options selected for their own merit. Typically, the Plan Provider offers to subsidize administrative costs if their proprietary investment products are used. This may appear to be a short-term win, but it can actually be long-term trouble for the Plan Sponsor. A few mediocre investment options can prove to be a significant opportunity cost to the Plan Participants and a ticking time-bomb of liability for the Plan Sponsor. Furthermore, the lack of a systematic process for investment option selection and evidence of implementation can add further liability to the employer.
   
2. In exchange for "bargain" pricing, the Plan Sponsor is often required to adopt a "one-size fits all" Plan Document that often does not allow the Plan Sponsor to efficiently accomplish their primary goals. Whether you are trying to maximize the tax-deferred savings of the owners or to maintain funding flexibility due to the cyclical nature of your business, your Plan Document needs to be properly customized and updated as necessary.
   
3. When the Plan Sponsor reaches out for help, they may often get an acknowledgement of their question rather than an insightful answer from the Product Provider. "How much can I defer?" the two owners of PSP Inc. asked. "$19,500 each," they were told by a faceless person in a call center of the Plan Provider. We could find a way for each of these owners to defer $57,000 in 2020 and to each do so again in 2021 by probing further and by having the proper plan structure. Important to them, this approach is at their discretion rather than being locked into a funding commitment that may prove difficult to meet if their business took a sudden downturn.

If any of these components sound like your plan, we can help!

Here's another scenario we see: A family-owned manufacturer, let's call them "G3 Manufacturing," is pitched a recommendation from a retail broker they know and a "slick" representative from a large mutual fund provider who is  focused on 401(k) business. Slick flew into town for this pitch, makes many promises while ensuring you know he feels he is the smartest person in the room. G3 Manufacturing is assured that their business will be a priority.

Unfortunately, once the contracts are signed, G3 Manufacturing never sees the same representative from the product provider more than once. Administrative hiccups occur, which will happen, but no one is really familiar with G3 Manufacturing and the constant turnover at the product provider is problematic. G3 Manufacturing learns the hard way that although their company's plan is of good size, the product provider has prioritized plans that are $100 million or larger, and they are not going to dedicate their "varsity team" to provide service.   

To add further insult, it turns out that the local retail broker has no other 401(k) plans and is working with G3 Manufacturing in the capacity of a Broker rather than as a fiduciary.  

G3 Manufacturing is not happy. If they treated their customers this way, the business would have never survived long enough for the second generation to run, much less the third. They shake their head and feel that they are stuck, as this must be as good as it gets.

Wrong.

We can step in, customize a plan that is sensitive to the desires of the owners, deploy investment options that are selected based on merit, and perform our tasks as fiduciaries.

Don't settle! Call us for a complimentary consultation.