Benefit Plan Consulting

Our consultants take the time to understand client goals for their qualified plans. Goals may include increased employee participation, increased employee deferrals or designing plan that offer owners and other highly compensated employees the potential to increase tax-deferred savings as allowed by the IRS, while still providing an excellent plan to their employees. Our goal is to inform clients about the many plan design options and help them choose the one that works best for them and their plan participants.

Benefit:  Clearly documented and defined plan goals

Plan compliance and administration are essential to a successful retirement plan. We take great care to review client census data and test for reasonability and accuracy prior to filing annual reports and regulatory documents.

Benefit:  Efficiency and avoidance of costly errors   

When providing investment consulting services, we become co-fiduciaries with our plan sponsor clients. We educate our clients about their fiduciary responsibilities and help create processes and procedures that strengthen the ability to fulfill these responsibilities. Examples include creating and/or refining an Investment Policy Statement for ERISA plans that define the process of fund selection, monitoring and removal;  reviewing all plan expenses for transparency and identifying that these are “reasonable” as is required by ERISA, accomplished by annual benchmarking of the plan; and maintaining objectivity in all aspects of plan management.

Benefit: Best practices, documented processes and enhanced fiduciary protection

We believe one of the keys to offering and maintaining a high-quality retirement savings plan is providing regular, comprehensive and timely education to employees. Our overall goal is to help plan participants prepare for and achieve a comfortable retirement. Our approach is to provide both group and one-on-one educational services focused upon the economy, capital markets, investment selection and financial planning concepts. If appropriate, we tier education sessions to group employees in similar life stages, to encourage greater participation. The professionals providing this education have Certified Financial Planner™ or Chartered Financial Analyst® designations and are not “investment salespeople.” 

Benefit:  Employees who are more confident in their ability to meet their financial goals, resulting in higher employee satisfaction

Our mutual fund screening expertise and intimate fund knowledge allows us to offer a solid selection of best-in-class mutual fund choices for our client’s 401(k) plans. Please note:  We receive no compensation from anyone other than our client, and we do not possess any “BKD mutual funds”—our fund selection process is designed to identify the best fund for your situation, regardless of fund family. This objectivity also allows us to recommend the removal and replacement of funds when appropriate..  

Benefit: Higher quality funds, which can lead to better portfolio growth opportunities