Managing Your Benefits Plans
Prudent employers understand the need to appoint an ERISA 3(16) plan administrator to manage the day-to-day operations of their 401(k) plan. The appointment of a plan administrator can alleviate the time consuming administrative functions and effectively minimize liability exposure for the plan sponsor.
National Professional Planning Group, Inc. (NPPG) recognizes the intricacies of retirement plan management and encompassing fiduciary responsibilities. The professionals at NPPG Fiduciary Services, LLC (NPPG-FS) are well versed in the nuances of both ERISA fiduciary and government regulatory requirements. When appointed as an ERISA 3(16) plan administrator NPPG-FS takes on the majority of the fiduciary risk enabling the plan sponsor to focus on company growth.
Fiduciary services include:
- Form 5500 Filings. Form 5500 review, signature and submission as plan administrator
- QDRO determinations. Review and make final determinations on Qualified Domestic Relations Orders as plan administrator.
- Benefit payments. NPPG-FS will serve as plan administrator and will authorize benefit payments to participants, including corrective distributions. NPPG-FS will only be responsible for approving hardship distributions that are made under the safe harbor rules.
- Loan review and approval.
- Approval of mandatory distributions.
- Making eligibility determinations.
- Preparation of enrollment packages for newly eligible participants.
- Approval of rollovers.
- Determination of participant disability.
- Elective deferrals. Notification to payroll vendor of appropriate level of elective deferrals.
- Preparation of notices.
- Monitoring duties.
- 404a-5 participant disclosures and 404(c) compliance
- Blackout periods
- Reasonableness of vendor compensation under 408(b)(2) other than the Plans Broker of Record, NPPG/NPPG-FS and its control companies (if applicable). Plan Sponsor will be responsible for monitoring NPPG/NPPG-FS’s compensation and the Plan’s Broker of Record.
- Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs). NPPG will be responsible for drafting and providing the SPD to Plan Sponsor, physical delivery of material to Plan participants is available for additional fee.
- Document request. NPPG-FS will provide required documents to Plan participants upon request, except that Plan Sponsor will be responsible for the worksite availability and distribution of documents; physical delivery of material to Plan participants is available for additional fee.
- Legal process. Service of legal process for a lawsuit related to the Plan can be made upon NPPG-FS as plan administrator.