This document discusses the importance of developing an education policy statement for 401(k) plans. It notes that the shift from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans has increased the responsibility of employees to manage their retirement savings. An education policy statement can help plan sponsors meet their fiduciary duties to provide participants with sufficient education and tools. It should include objectives like describing investment options and performance, key investment concepts, asset allocation, and retirement goals. The policy statement also specifies how education will be delivered through meetings, media, and interactive tools.
Top10 SMSF strategies for 2011/12 presentation conducted by Aaron Dunn of The SMSF Academy in conjunction with Business Fitness.
Download a copy of the free webinar, by visiting http://thesmsfacademy.com.au/free-webinars/
Start a Solid Business Plan with a Health FSAInfinisource
Budgeting and saving are two basic ingredients to a good financial plan. What is often overlooked during these financial discussions is an employer-provided benefit: Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). This is not only a good financial plan for employees, but also employers.
Top10 SMSF strategies for 2011/12 presentation conducted by Aaron Dunn of The SMSF Academy in conjunction with Business Fitness.
Download a copy of the free webinar, by visiting http://thesmsfacademy.com.au/free-webinars/
Start a Solid Business Plan with a Health FSAInfinisource
Budgeting and saving are two basic ingredients to a good financial plan. What is often overlooked during these financial discussions is an employer-provided benefit: Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). This is not only a good financial plan for employees, but also employers.
Group health plans can require qualified beneficiaries to pay for COBRA continuation coverage, although plan sponsors can choose to provide continuation coverage at reduced or no cost.
The maximum amount charged to qualified beneficiaries cannot exceed 102 percent of the plan’s total cost of coverage. The cost amount is based on the cost of coverage for similarly situated individuals who have not incurred a qualifying event. For qualified beneficiaries receiving the 11-month disability extension, the premium for those additional months may be increased to 150 percent of the plan's total cost of coverage...
CAPTURING TAX OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE FINAL TANGIBLE PROPERTY REGULATIONSCBIZ, Inc.
The tangible property regulations (TPRs) are the most dramatic changes in tax law to affect businesses since the overhaul of the Internal Revenue Code in 1986. The TPRs apply to all forms of business, whether a "C" corporation, an "S" corporation, a partnership, an LLC, a sole proprietorship (Schedule C on individual return), or a rental (Schedule E on individual return).
The facts and circumstances of each business situation should be carefully evaluated to determine the proper treatment of all business expenditures for materials and supplies, repairs and maintenance, and asset purchases along with the impact on subsequent depreciation. Needless to say, these regulations are quite complex and require timely attention.
Review all of the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Training will go over which employers have to comply, which benefits are subject to ERISA, what documentation employers must provide, and penalties for noncompliance.
Independent Contractor or Employee: Avoiding the Game of Guess Whobenefitexpress
Uber is in the news for a multimillion dollar settlement following a dispute over whether their drivers are employees or independent contractors, and they aren’t the only ones. Misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor is one of the costliest mistakes an employer can make.
Sort out which your employees are and learn your options for reclassifying workers in the webinar you literally can’t afford to miss.
Retirement planning should be based on an understanding of generating a lifetime income stream. Putnam’s Lifetime Income experience has demonstrated a positive influence on participant savings behavior. The U.S. Department of Labor’s goal of adding lifetime income illustrations on pension benefit statements advances the effort to help retirement plan participants make better savings decisions. Rules governing the distribution of this information should be flexible and open to innovation.
Financial Education promises employers a return on investment of atlaest 1:4
i.e., for every one rupee spent in teching employees about their personal finance the organizations stands to gain 4 rupees directly.
To know more view the below presentation
Promoting & Evaluating The Success of Your Plan | The Wagner Law GroupThe 401k Study Group ®
Plan sponsors and other responsible fiduciaries should consider establishing voluntary goals to help evaluate and
promote the success of their Plans. Focusing on the right goals can substantially improve a Plan’s performance and help assure a Plan’s success as an employer sponsored
benefit arrangement for employees.
Group health plans can require qualified beneficiaries to pay for COBRA continuation coverage, although plan sponsors can choose to provide continuation coverage at reduced or no cost.
The maximum amount charged to qualified beneficiaries cannot exceed 102 percent of the plan’s total cost of coverage. The cost amount is based on the cost of coverage for similarly situated individuals who have not incurred a qualifying event. For qualified beneficiaries receiving the 11-month disability extension, the premium for those additional months may be increased to 150 percent of the plan's total cost of coverage...
CAPTURING TAX OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE FINAL TANGIBLE PROPERTY REGULATIONSCBIZ, Inc.
The tangible property regulations (TPRs) are the most dramatic changes in tax law to affect businesses since the overhaul of the Internal Revenue Code in 1986. The TPRs apply to all forms of business, whether a "C" corporation, an "S" corporation, a partnership, an LLC, a sole proprietorship (Schedule C on individual return), or a rental (Schedule E on individual return).
The facts and circumstances of each business situation should be carefully evaluated to determine the proper treatment of all business expenditures for materials and supplies, repairs and maintenance, and asset purchases along with the impact on subsequent depreciation. Needless to say, these regulations are quite complex and require timely attention.
Review all of the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Training will go over which employers have to comply, which benefits are subject to ERISA, what documentation employers must provide, and penalties for noncompliance.
Independent Contractor or Employee: Avoiding the Game of Guess Whobenefitexpress
Uber is in the news for a multimillion dollar settlement following a dispute over whether their drivers are employees or independent contractors, and they aren’t the only ones. Misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor is one of the costliest mistakes an employer can make.
Sort out which your employees are and learn your options for reclassifying workers in the webinar you literally can’t afford to miss.
Retirement planning should be based on an understanding of generating a lifetime income stream. Putnam’s Lifetime Income experience has demonstrated a positive influence on participant savings behavior. The U.S. Department of Labor’s goal of adding lifetime income illustrations on pension benefit statements advances the effort to help retirement plan participants make better savings decisions. Rules governing the distribution of this information should be flexible and open to innovation.
Financial Education promises employers a return on investment of atlaest 1:4
i.e., for every one rupee spent in teching employees about their personal finance the organizations stands to gain 4 rupees directly.
To know more view the below presentation
Promoting & Evaluating The Success of Your Plan | The Wagner Law GroupThe 401k Study Group ®
Plan sponsors and other responsible fiduciaries should consider establishing voluntary goals to help evaluate and
promote the success of their Plans. Focusing on the right goals can substantially improve a Plan’s performance and help assure a Plan’s success as an employer sponsored
benefit arrangement for employees.
COVID-19: The Impact on Retirement PlansCBIZ, Inc.
As COVID-19 continues to impact the stock market and organizations around the world, we understand that you have concerns about how recent market fluctuations may affect your retirement plan. What you should know is that there are options you may have to minimize these effects on your business and your employees. We’ve developed a summary of these complex issues in this whitepaper. You will learn about:
- Impacts to both defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans
- Potential options for your organization to minimize negative effects on your business and your employees
- Legislative updates from the CARES Act
- Important considerations and actions to take next
Discuss the tax consequences of qualified pension or profit sharing pl.docxwviola
Discuss the tax consequences of qualified pension or profit sharing plan to the employee, the employer, and the trust. (source needed)
Solution
Qualified retirement plans give employers a tax break for the contributions that they make for their employees.
Qualified plans that allow employees to defer a portion of their salaries into the plan also reduce employees\' present income tax liability by reducing taxable income.
These planshelp employers to attract and retain good employees.
Qualified pans come in two types:defined benefit and defined contribution. Defined benefit plans give employees a guaranteed payout, and place the risk on the employer to save and invest appropriately to meet plan liabilities.
Under defined contribution plans, the amount employees receive on retirement depends on how well they save and invest on their own during their working years A 401 ( k) plan is an example of a defined contribution plan.
Whether the plan makes use of a trust or is funded by employer purchased annuities, an employee is generally not taxed until the amounts are distributed or made available to him. To prohibit plan participants from using plans as a mechanism for passing wealth on to the next generation, rather than as a source of income during retirement, Internal Revenue Service regulations require plan participants to take required minimum distributions from qualified plans once they reach the required beginning date described in the regulations.
The trust must be valid under State Law and a ll beneficiaries of the trust must be individuals, and the trust must be irrevocable by its terms upon the participant\'s death.
.
sing Target Date Funds in Your Plan
Target date funds (also known as lifecycle funds) have become increasingly popular in retirement plans. Close to 70% of 401(k) and profit sharing plans offered target date funds in 2014, according to the most recent survey by the Plan Sponsor Council of America.*
The latest Retirement Plan News contains articles on the following: 1) Make Benchmarking Your Plan An Annual Exercise 2) Employer Contribution Trends 3) QDIAS Ten years On
By 2025, many DC plan sponsors will likely adopt characteristics of the most successful pension plans to help put them on a path to create a fully funded retirement income stream for plan participants. Here are ten considerations
This project concerns employee pensions and is being introdu.pdfadinathfashion1
This project concerns employee pensions and is being introduced to you at this point because it
represents one of our individual projects for this semester. The project puts you in the position of a
benefits manager.
Project Overview:
You are charged with making recommendations as the leader of a pension study task force, for a
possible conversion of a company's benefit plan from a defined benefit plan to a defined
contribution plan. You are asked to make recommendations about how such a proposed defined
contribution plan would look and with communicating these changes to plan participants.
Final Products you need to submit to me to complete the pension project:
Recommendations from you, in the role of a leader of a pension study task force, for converting
the defined benefit plan of Eastern Alliance Company to a defined contribution plan. The revised
plan needs to meet ERISA standards for participant eligibility, enrollment, communication
standards and vesting requirements.
The project also requires that you draft a preliminary letter that will come from the Director of
Human Resources to plan participants communicating to them how Eastern Alliance Company's
pension plan has changed. This preliminary letter will serve as the basis to satisfy ERISA
requirements for communicating changes involving the pension plan to participants.
Memo
To: Benefits Manager
From: Burke Waltz, Director of Human Resources, Eastern Alliance
Re: Exploratory examination of converting Eastern Alliance's pension program from a defined
benefit pension plan to a defined contribution 401(k) plan.
As you know, due to the volatility of our pension expenses our organization, Eastern Alliance, has
decided to examine the feasibility of converting our defined benefit pension plan to a defined
contribution plan. Over the course of the past several years, our executives have come to the
conclusion that our defined benefits plan is unduly expensive for Eastern Alliance to maintain,
administratively burdensome, places a disproportionate amount of risk upon Eastern Alliance, and
is ineffective in attracting younger, more mobile employees to work for our organization because of
our vesting requirements.
The benefits survey which we purchase indicates that most companies which offer a retirement
plan offer a defined contribution plan, such as a 401(k), in which the employer promises certain
contributions to an employee's account but with no guaranteed retirement benefit. As a not-for-
profit firm interested in configuring our pension plan to reflect today's economic environment,
Eastern Alliance is forming a task force to examine the feasibility of converting our company's
pension plan from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan. In your role as the Benefit
Manager for our firm, I am asking you to lead that task force.
To help you lead this task force, please find below details of the current Eastern Alliance ERISA
qualified defined benefit plan:
Characteristics of the.
The past 30 years has born witness to the collapse of the private pension system with for-profit employers, tax-exempt entities and now the governmental sponsors replacing defined benefit pension programs with defined contribution plans. This practice spawned a well-documented transfer of investment and funding risk from employer to employee. Now, most defined contribution plans render the employee the sole decision maker on the four factors that determine an employee's ability to retire successfully: contribution rate, investment strategy/return, time horizon, and spending needs in retirement.<br /><br /> In this presentation we will address what employers can do to help employees meet the demands of the new retirement plan era.
Discussion Question (250-300 words long) Describe the princip.docxelinoraudley582231
Discussion Question: (250-300 words long)
Describe the principles of fee-for-service plans and managed care plans. What are the similarities and differences?
I want you to discuss and answer this question and to help you to do so I will upload a PowerPoint file helping you to answer this question.
Here are two of the classmates responses to this question read it and try to connect their responses to your answer and discussion.
Gabrielle
Fee-for-service plans (FSS) and managed care plans are both classes of insurance programs. In fee-for-service plans, the doctors and hospitals get paid for the service that they perform and test that they order. This plan provides protection against health care expenses in the form of a cash benefit that is paid to the insurer or directly to the health care provider after the employee has received health care services. However under this plan, the insurance company determines a deductible for the patient to pay and then they are responsible for the remainder of the amount. Under managed care plans, the plans emphasize cost control by limiting the patient’s choice of doctors and hospitals that they can use. The plan provides a list of physicians and hospitals that the plan holder can use at a reduced price.
These plans are both similar because they offer a reduced price for medical and health coverage. Some differences between the two include how a patient can choose a physician or hospital. Under FSS, you can see a physician whenever you want or feel necessary. However, under managed care, when you see only the physicians that are affiliated with the plan, they then receive a strong financial incentive.
Trevor
The principles of a fee-for-service plan include a health insurance programs that that use cash benefits in order to help protect employees of an organization from expense that come from health care. Some things that are covered by this are physician charges, hospital expenses, and surgical expenses. One type of these service plans are indemnity plans. These plans are when the insurance company and the employer have a contract that specifically covers certain expenses. The next type of these plans are self-funded plans. These plans are when a company pays benefits from their own assets. Managed care plans control costs by limiting employee's decisions on doctors and hospitals. Fee-for-service plans and managed care plans are similar because they both provide health insurance for employees. Managed health care plans are more confusing because they have so many specifications, meanwhile fee-for-service plans is more basic that offers cash benefit for expenses.
until after a probationary period of at least three months so that they can prove that they are going to be great asset to the company.
Instructions:
1. Login to our database using the phpmyadmin.soe.ucsc.edu interface.
2. Develop SQL query to answer each question.
3. In a WORD compatible document and for each question:
· State .
Employee benefits are a large portion of an employees total rewards package. Their importance has increased over the years. As employers offer benefits they must balance the cost while meeting the needs of their employees. This study details three different approaches to measure benefit adequacy.
Similar to The Importance of an Educational Policy Statement for 401k Plans (20)
Defined contribution (DC) plan sponsors face increasingly complex issues. Russell Investments has developed a priority list of eight ideas and actions to help plan sponsors guide their participants toward better decision-making as they save for retirement.
Today’s increasingly complex investment and regulatory landscape places greater pressure on the plan sponsors and fiduciaries overseeing defined contribution plans. Fiduciaries are not only re-examining their current investment decision-making practices, they are also seeking to ensure that those practices allow for enough flexibility in implementation to maximize the likelihood of investment success, while protecting the plan sponsor from potential litigation.
Central to the idea of a well-managed program, a clearly articulated investment policy statement (IPS) serves as the foundation of sound governance and a robust oversight process
Ever ask: “How does our retirement plan compare to others?” Learn what Russell Investments believes all excellent DC plans share and actions you can take to help position your plan for excellence.
While many assume the greatest source of retirement plan liability is the plan’s investments, in reality, the vast
majority of lawsuits and regulatory actions involve failures in administration.
how can I sell my pi coins for cash in a pi APPDOT TECH
You can't sell your pi coins in the pi network app. because it is not listed yet on any exchange.
The only way you can sell is by trading your pi coins with an investor (a person looking forward to hold massive amounts of pi coins before mainnet launch) .
You don't need to meet the investor directly all the trades are done with a pi vendor/merchant (a person that buys the pi coins from miners and resell it to investors)
I Will leave The telegram contact of my personal pi vendor, if you are finding a legitimate one.
@Pi_vendor_247
#pi network
#pi coins
#money
Falcon stands out as a top-tier P2P Invoice Discounting platform in India, bridging esteemed blue-chip companies and eager investors. Our goal is to transform the investment landscape in India by establishing a comprehensive destination for borrowers and investors with diverse profiles and needs, all while minimizing risk. What sets Falcon apart is the elimination of intermediaries such as commercial banks and depository institutions, allowing investors to enjoy higher yields.
NO1 Uk Black Magic Specialist Expert In Sahiwal, Okara, Hafizabad, Mandi Bah...Amil Baba Dawood bangali
Contact with Dawood Bhai Just call on +92322-6382012 and we'll help you. We'll solve all your problems within 12 to 24 hours and with 101% guarantee and with astrology systematic. If you want to take any personal or professional advice then also you can call us on +92322-6382012 , ONLINE LOVE PROBLEM & Other all types of Daily Life Problem's.Then CALL or WHATSAPP us on +92322-6382012 and Get all these problems solutions here by Amil Baba DAWOOD BANGALI
#vashikaranspecialist #astrologer #palmistry #amliyaat #taweez #manpasandshadi #horoscope #spiritual #lovelife #lovespell #marriagespell#aamilbabainpakistan #amilbabainkarachi #powerfullblackmagicspell #kalajadumantarspecialist #realamilbaba #AmilbabainPakistan #astrologerincanada #astrologerindubai #lovespellsmaster #kalajaduspecialist #lovespellsthatwork #aamilbabainlahore#blackmagicformarriage #aamilbaba #kalajadu #kalailam #taweez #wazifaexpert #jadumantar #vashikaranspecialist #astrologer #palmistry #amliyaat #taweez #manpasandshadi #horoscope #spiritual #lovelife #lovespell #marriagespell#aamilbabainpakistan #amilbabainkarachi #powerfullblackmagicspell #kalajadumantarspecialist #realamilbaba #AmilbabainPakistan #astrologerincanada #astrologerindubai #lovespellsmaster #kalajaduspecialist #lovespellsthatwork #aamilbabainlahore #blackmagicforlove #blackmagicformarriage #aamilbaba #kalajadu #kalailam #taweez #wazifaexpert #jadumantar #vashikaranspecialist #astrologer #palmistry #amliyaat #taweez #manpasandshadi #horoscope #spiritual #lovelife #lovespell #marriagespell#aamilbabainpakistan #amilbabainkarachi #powerfullblackmagicspell #kalajadumantarspecialist #realamilbaba #AmilbabainPakistan #astrologerincanada #astrologerindubai #lovespellsmaster #kalajaduspecialist #lovespellsthatwork #aamilbabainlahore #Amilbabainuk #amilbabainspain #amilbabaindubai #Amilbabainnorway #amilbabainkrachi #amilbabainlahore #amilbabaingujranwalan #amilbabainislamabad
The European Unemployment Puzzle: implications from population agingGRAPE
We study the link between the evolving age structure of the working population and unemployment. We build a large new Keynesian OLG model with a realistic age structure, labor market frictions, sticky prices, and aggregate shocks. Once calibrated to the European economy, we quantify the extent to which demographic changes over the last three decades have contributed to the decline of the unemployment rate. Our findings yield important implications for the future evolution of unemployment given the anticipated further aging of the working population in Europe. We also quantify the implications for optimal monetary policy: lowering inflation volatility becomes less costly in terms of GDP and unemployment volatility, which hints that optimal monetary policy may be more hawkish in an aging society. Finally, our results also propose a partial reversal of the European-US unemployment puzzle due to the fact that the share of young workers is expected to remain robust in the US.
Resume
• Real GDP growth slowed down due to problems with access to electricity caused by the destruction of manoeuvrable electricity generation by Russian drones and missiles.
• Exports and imports continued growing due to better logistics through the Ukrainian sea corridor and road. Polish farmers and drivers stopped blocking borders at the end of April.
• In April, both the Tax and Customs Services over-executed the revenue plan. Moreover, the NBU transferred twice the planned profit to the budget.
• The European side approved the Ukraine Plan, which the government adopted to determine indicators for the Ukraine Facility. That approval will allow Ukraine to receive a EUR 1.9 bn loan from the EU in May. At the same time, the EU provided Ukraine with a EUR 1.5 bn loan in April, as the government fulfilled five indicators under the Ukraine Plan.
• The USA has finally approved an aid package for Ukraine, which includes USD 7.8 bn of budget support; however, the conditions and timing of the assistance are still unknown.
• As in March, annual consumer inflation amounted to 3.2% yoy in April.
• At the April monetary policy meeting, the NBU again reduced the key policy rate from 14.5% to 13.5% per annum.
• Over the past four weeks, the hryvnia exchange rate has stabilized in the UAH 39-40 per USD range.
What website can I sell pi coins securely.DOT TECH
Currently there are no website or exchange that allow buying or selling of pi coins..
But you can still easily sell pi coins, by reselling it to exchanges/crypto whales interested in holding thousands of pi coins before the mainnet launch.
Who is a pi merchant?
A pi merchant is someone who buys pi coins from miners and resell to these crypto whales and holders of pi..
This is because pi network is not doing any pre-sale. The only way exchanges can get pi is by buying from miners and pi merchants stands in between the miners and the exchanges.
How can I sell my pi coins?
Selling pi coins is really easy, but first you need to migrate to mainnet wallet before you can do that. I will leave the telegram contact of my personal pi merchant to trade with.
Tele-gram.
@Pi_vendor_247
The secret way to sell pi coins effortlessly.DOT TECH
Well as we all know pi isn't launched yet. But you can still sell your pi coins effortlessly because some whales in China are interested in holding massive pi coins. And they are willing to pay good money for it. If you are interested in selling I will leave a contact for you. Just telegram this number below. I sold about 3000 pi coins to him and he paid me immediately.
Telegram: @Pi_vendor_247
what is the future of Pi Network currency.DOT TECH
The future of the Pi cryptocurrency is uncertain, and its success will depend on several factors. Pi is a relatively new cryptocurrency that aims to be user-friendly and accessible to a wide audience. Here are a few key considerations for its future:
Message: @Pi_vendor_247 on telegram if u want to sell PI COINS.
1. Mainnet Launch: As of my last knowledge update in January 2022, Pi was still in the testnet phase. Its success will depend on a successful transition to a mainnet, where actual transactions can take place.
2. User Adoption: Pi's success will be closely tied to user adoption. The more users who join the network and actively participate, the stronger the ecosystem can become.
3. Utility and Use Cases: For a cryptocurrency to thrive, it must offer utility and practical use cases. The Pi team has talked about various applications, including peer-to-peer transactions, smart contracts, and more. The development and implementation of these features will be essential.
4. Regulatory Environment: The regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies is evolving globally. How Pi navigates and complies with regulations in various jurisdictions will significantly impact its future.
5. Technology Development: The Pi network must continue to develop and improve its technology, security, and scalability to compete with established cryptocurrencies.
6. Community Engagement: The Pi community plays a critical role in its future. Engaged users can help build trust and grow the network.
7. Monetization and Sustainability: The Pi team's monetization strategy, such as fees, partnerships, or other revenue sources, will affect its long-term sustainability.
It's essential to approach Pi or any new cryptocurrency with caution and conduct due diligence. Cryptocurrency investments involve risks, and potential rewards can be uncertain. The success and future of Pi will depend on the collective efforts of its team, community, and the broader cryptocurrency market dynamics. It's advisable to stay updated on Pi's development and follow any updates from the official Pi Network website or announcements from the team.
Even tho Pi network is not listed on any exchange yet.
Buying/Selling or investing in pi network coins is highly possible through the help of vendors. You can buy from vendors[ buy directly from the pi network miners and resell it]. I will leave the telegram contact of my personal vendor.
@Pi_vendor_247
how to sell pi coins effectively (from 50 - 100k pi)DOT TECH
Anywhere in the world, including Africa, America, and Europe, you can sell Pi Network Coins online and receive cash through online payment options.
Pi has not yet been launched on any exchange because we are currently using the confined Mainnet. The planned launch date for Pi is June 28, 2026.
Reselling to investors who want to hold until the mainnet launch in 2026 is currently the sole way to sell.
Consequently, right now. All you need to do is select the right pi network provider.
Who is a pi merchant?
An individual who buys coins from miners on the pi network and resells them to investors hoping to hang onto them until the mainnet is launched is known as a pi merchant.
debuts.
I'll provide you the Telegram username
@Pi_vendor_247
how can I sell pi coins after successfully completing KYCDOT TECH
Pi coins is not launched yet in any exchange 💱 this means it's not swappable, the current pi displaying on coin market cap is the iou version of pi. And you can learn all about that on my previous post.
RIGHT NOW THE ONLY WAY you can sell pi coins is through verified pi merchants. A pi merchant is someone who buys pi coins and resell them to exchanges and crypto whales. Looking forward to hold massive quantities of pi coins before the mainnet launch.
This is because pi network is not doing any pre-sale or ico offerings, the only way to get my coins is from buying from miners. So a merchant facilitates the transactions between the miners and these exchanges holding pi.
I and my friends has sold more than 6000 pi coins successfully with this method. I will be happy to share the contact of my personal pi merchant. The one i trade with, if you have your own merchant you can trade with them. For those who are new.
Message: @Pi_vendor_247 on telegram.
I wouldn't advise you selling all percentage of the pi coins. Leave at least a before so its a win win during open mainnet. Have a nice day pioneers ♥️
#kyc #mainnet #picoins #pi #sellpi #piwallet
#pinetwork
If you are looking for a pi coin investor. Then look no further because I have the right one he is a pi vendor (he buy and resell to whales in China). I met him on a crypto conference and ever since I and my friends have sold more than 10k pi coins to him And he bought all and still want more. I will drop his telegram handle below just send him a message.
@Pi_vendor_247
Empowering the Unbanked: The Vital Role of NBFCs in Promoting Financial Inclu...Vighnesh Shashtri
In India, financial inclusion remains a critical challenge, with a significant portion of the population still unbanked. Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) have emerged as key players in bridging this gap by providing financial services to those often overlooked by traditional banking institutions. This article delves into how NBFCs are fostering financial inclusion and empowering the unbanked.
what is the best method to sell pi coins in 2024DOT TECH
The best way to sell your pi coins safely is trading with an exchange..but since pi is not launched in any exchange, and second option is through a VERIFIED pi merchant.
Who is a pi merchant?
A pi merchant is someone who buys pi coins from miners and pioneers and resell them to Investors looking forward to hold massive amounts before mainnet launch in 2026.
I will leave the telegram contact of my personal pi merchant to trade pi coins with.
@Pi_vendor_247
Currently pi network is not tradable on binance or any other exchange because we are still in the enclosed mainnet.
Right now the only way to sell pi coins is by trading with a verified merchant.
What is a pi merchant?
A pi merchant is someone verified by pi network team and allowed to barter pi coins for goods and services.
Since pi network is not doing any pre-sale The only way exchanges like binance/huobi or crypto whales can get pi is by buying from miners. And a merchant stands in between the exchanges and the miners.
I will leave the telegram contact of my personal pi merchant. I and my friends has traded more than 6000pi coins successfully
Tele-gram
@Pi_vendor_247
The Importance of an Educational Policy Statement for 401k Plans
1. THE IMPORTANCE OF AN EDUCATION POLICY STATEMENT FOR 401(k) PLANS
Prepared by Douglas Dormire Powers1
BECKMAN LAWSON, LLP
On behalf of QP Steno, LLC2
August 12, 2015
1
Douglas Dormire Powers is a partner in the law firm of Beckman Lawson, LLP, in Fort Wayne,
Indiana, focusing his practice on employee benefits, including compliance and litigation. He has
litigated ERISA cases in federal courts across the country, and regularly represents clients before
the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service. He is a frequent speaker on
employee benefits issues related to both retirement and welfare plans.
2
Jonathan Baltes is the CEO of QP Steno, LLC, in Fort Wayne, IN. His company is a
technology firm that provides services to those who oversee or service retirement plans. Its tool
is used to measure the reasonableness of fees based on committed time and resources by a
covered service provider. Additionally, the tool can be used by service providers to track trends
in employee behavior or by compliance departments to ensure that appropriate services are being
delivered by their representatives.
2. 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A retirement plan is one of the most important benefits an employer can offer to its
employees. However, the complexity of the regulatory environment and the importance of
retirement plan assets to participants’ well-being in retirement mandate an intentional approach
to administering the plan in a way that ensures that it meets it purpose. An education policy
statement can be an invaluable tool to help bring about these positive outcomes.
The need for an education policy statement becomes apparent when the current retirement
plan environment is put in perspective. Over the past 30 years, defined benefit plans that pay a
monthly retirement benefit to participants for their lifetimes have largely given way to defined
contribution plans in which participants accumulate retirement assets in plan account balances.
One effect of this trend has been to off-load most of the investment risk from employers to
employees. As a result, plan sponsors have an affirmative fiduciary obligation to provide
participants with the tools and knowledge necessary to meaningfully direct the investment of
their retirement assets.
From a compliance point of view, plan sponsors are faced with a dizzying array of
obligations with respect to their retirement plans. Many of these functions can be delegated to
third-party advisors and service providers, some of which may assume some fiduciary duty. The
plan sponsor, however, will always retain the ultimate fiduciary responsibility for the smooth and
compliant functioning of the plan. Hence, it is critical that plan sponsors put into place
intentional components related to operation of the plan. One of the most important of these
components is an effective education policy statement.
The development of an education policy statement begins with an assessment of the
essential components of the plan, participant demographics and plan participation data. With this
information, a plan sponsor can develop an education policy statement that addresses the
following key objectives:
• Description of investment options and performance
• Key investment concepts
• Asset allocation
• Retirement goals
The education policy statement should also address the means that the plan sponsor will
use to meet these objectives, such as how frequently it will hold participant meetings, what media
will be used to present information, and the extent to which other interactive tools are made
available to participants. The plan sponsor should review annually the effectiveness of the
3. 3
program of participant education as established by the education policy statement, then modify it
as needed.
I. OVERVIEW
a. The Relationship Between Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Plans
To understand the relevance of an education policy statement in today’s employer
sponsored retirement plan environment, one must appreciate the profound shift that has occurred
with respect to such plans in the United States over the past 30 years. Federal law has encouraged
employers to sponsor retirement plans by providing significant tax advantages for both
employers that sponsor them and employees who participate in them.
The two types of tax-qualified plans include (1) defined benefit and (2) defined
contribution. A defined benefit plan can be described loosely as a traditional pension plan. That
is, the retirement benefit for employee-participants is a pension “promise” that typically consists
of a monthly income for life to retirees that is determined by the application of a formula that
takes into account and employee’s age, years of service and salary. No specific funds are
associated with any particular participant. Rather, the employer must annually determine how
much money it must contribute to the plan in order to meet its obligations to current and future
retirees based on the actual and projected demographics of participants, and assumptions about
investment performance.
Various types of benefits may be available under a defined benefit plan. The standard
“normal” form of benefit for an unmarried participant is a single life annuity that provides a
monthly income for the life of the participant. For a married participant, the standard form of
benefit is a joint and 50% survivor annuity that provides a fixed monthly amount to the
participant, and half that amount to the participant’s spouse, if the spouse survives the
participant. Other actuarially equivalent forms of benefit may be available as well, so long as the
spouse consents, including in some plans a single lump sum paid upon retirement.
A defined contribution plan, on the other hand, operates more like a bank account in that
each participant has an account balance into which both the employer (through profit-sharing and
matching contributions) and the participant (through salary deferrals) may contribute.
Contributions are tax-deductible and income that the account balance earns through investment
grows tax-deferred. A participant pays income tax on any retirement plan withdrawals, whether
from a defined benefit or a defined contribution plan, as benefits are distributed, typically during
the participant’s retirement years (except for Roth accounts).
A relative newcomer to the defined contribution landscape is the 401(k) feature that many
defined contribution plans include within their plan design. The “401(k)” refers to the section of
the Internal Revenue Code adopted in 1978 that permits participants to contribute some of their
own compensation to their account balances in addition to money the employer contributes. The
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401(k) feature has become so ubiquitous that many defined contribution plans are simply
characterized as “401(k) plans.”
b. The Convergence of Plan Sponsor Risk Aversion and Participant Control
Over about the past 30 years, the number of defined benefit plans has dwindled as defined
contribution plans have become more popular. This trend began in earnest around 1979 when
the dominance of defined benefit plans started to fade. By 1987, there were an equal number of
both types of plans in the United States. Today, among employers that offer only one retirement
plan, about 69% are defined contribution plans and about 7% are defined benefit plans. About
24% of employers offer both types of plans.
Contributors to this trend come from both sides of the equation. Employers have been
motivated by a desire to minimize the risks associated with fluctuating economic conditions and
plan asset investment performance that can involve wild swings in annual contribution
requirements, as well as getting out from under the high annual cost of maintaining a defined
benefit plan. Participants have been attracted by the concept of participant-directed investment
of their account balance in a defined contribution plan over which they can exercise control and
which is more portable in an economic environment that no longer values longevity at a single
employer.
With the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 1999 and more recently the Great Recession,
where many participants saw their defined contribution balances decline by a third or more,
many employees are beginning to rethink their preference for control over the security of a
guaranteed monthly pension that will last their lifetimes. Employers, however, are not likely to
embrace a resurgence of traditional pension plans any time soon.
The result of this long term trend has been a significant shift in the risk of ensuring
retirement security from employers to employees, as shown in Table 1. By changing from
defined benefit to defined contribution plan designs, employers have off-loaded the most serious
investment risks to their employees, including risks associated with investment performance,
inflation, longevity, and market timing.
Table 1: Comparison of Risk Assumption in DB and DC Plans
Type of Risk Who Assumes It
Defined Benefit Defined Contribution
Investment Employer Employee
Inflation Employer Employee
Longevity Employer Employee
Market Timing Employer Employee
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Accrual Employee Employee
Vesting Employee Employee
Employer Insolvency Employee/Taxpayers DC plan always fully funded
Salary Replacement Employer Employer
c. Why Education is Critical
A primary effect of the trend away from defined benefit plans and toward defined
contribution plans has been to require a workforce that is relatively unsophisticated about
investments to become managers of what for many employees is their largest single asset—their
retirement account balance. All parties therefore have a strong incentive to provide participants
with the necessary tools to be prudent managers of their retirement security. Employers may be
motivated by a combination of avoiding the risk of fiduciary liability and a sincere desire to do
what they can to ensure their employees enjoy a comfortable retirement. Employees, of course,
want to enjoy their retirement years without having excessive financial anxiety or the need to
continue working solely to generate adequate income on which to live.
The answer to this is for employers to ensure that they offer their employee-participants
the knowledge and tools they need to become effective planners and managers of their retirement
nest eggs. The most effective way to ensure this result is to provide an effective, ongoing and
understandable program of education.
II. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
a. General Fiduciary Duties
Employers who sponsor qualified retirement plans face a daunting array of regulatory
requirements arising out of statutes, regulations and related guidance contained in the Internal
Revenue Code (“Code”) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”).
Foremost among employer-plan sponsor responsibilities are ERISA’s fiduciary duties. In
essence, a plan sponsor must:
• Act solely in the interest of plan participants and their beneficiaries and with the
exclusive purpose of providing benefits to them
• Carry out their duties prudently
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• Follow terms of the plan document
• Diversify plan investments
• Pay only reasonable plan expenses
As a practical matter, plan sponsors delegate many of their fiduciary and other plan
obligations to third-party experts, including plan administration, custody of plan assets,
investment selection and monitoring, account recordkeeping, transaction processing—and
participant education. Delegation of these plan-related fiduciary responsibilities, however, does
not mean abdication. A plan sponsor will always remain the “named fiduciary,” and will
therefore ultimately be responsible for ensuring the smooth and compliant operation of the plan.
To the extent certain obligations are delegated, for example, the plan sponsor still retains the
responsibility to ensure that the third-party service provider is performing its services consistent
with the high level of care and expertise required of plan fiduciaries.
Failure of a plan sponsor to meet its fiduciary obligations can result in stiff penalties, and
even disqualification of the plan, with disastrous tax liability, interest, fines and other penalties.
Accordingly, employers have a strong incentive to take whatever steps are necessary to minimize
their fiduciary exposure.
b. The Role of ERISA § 404(c)
Most defined contribution plans permit participants to direct the investment of their
account balances. Allowing participant direction can be an means of limiting the fiduciary
liability of plan sponsors for the poor investment decisions of their participants, so long as they
follows rules designed to ensure that participants have the tools and knowledge needed to
intelligently manage their plan assets.
Those rules are found in ERISA § 404(c). They can be summarized as follows:
• The plan must offer a broad range of investment alternatives. Generally, this is
satisfied by having an investment menu that has at least three core options that are
diversified and have materially different risk and return characteristics. These
typically include diversified funds from equity (stocks), fixed income (bonds) and
capital preservation (money market) asset classes.
• The plan must provide participants with an opportunity to exercise control over
assets in their accounts, subject to reasonable restrictions. The plan can satisfy
this requirement by offering participants the opportunity to change investments as
frequently as appropriate in light of the volatility of plan investments—at least
quarterly. The plan may impose restrictions on participants’ investment directions,
such as limiting investment in the riskiest investment alternative to a certain
percentage of a participant’s account balance. In addition, participants must have
access to information that is sufficient to help them make informed election decisions.
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• Participants must be able to exercise independent control over their plan
investment decisions. Determining whether a participant acted independently
involves looking at the facts and circumstances of each situation. For example, a
participant does not act independently when he or she is subjected to improper
influence by a plan fiduciary in connection with the transaction.
• The plan must supply participants with certain information regarding the plan
and its investment options, including the following information:
o Regular and periodic disclosures of plan-related and investment-related
information.
o A notice that the plan intends to comply with ERISA § 404(c) and fiduciaries may
be relieved of liability for investment losses as a result of participant investment
decisions. This can be provided in the plan’s summary plan description.
o If applicable, certain information regarding employer securities offered as an
investment alternative under the plan.
Inherent in complying with the requirements of § 404(c) is the provision of investment
education to participants. A full-featured program of investment education will meet both
ERISA’s general fiduciary requirements and the specific requirements of § 404(c).
c. Fee Disclosure Regulations
Complicating the regulatory picture are recent fee disclosure regulations designed to help
plan sponsors meet the doubly-difficult challenge of (1) understanding all of the many ways
account balances can be eroded through a daunting array of provider and investment fees, and (2)
how plan sponsors communicate this fee information to participants in a meaningful way. The
provider-to-plan fee disclosure regulation relates to ERISA § 408(b)(2), which grants an
exemption to ERISA’s prohibited transaction rules for “reasonable” arrangements between a plan
and its service providers to provide necessary services. This part of the fee disclosure regime
goes into great detail as to what is “reasonable,” and has resulted in what many now concede is a
barrage of opaque fine print from providers that is of little practical use to an unsophisticated
plan sponsor who is nonetheless charged not only with obtaining fee information, but also
understanding and evaluating it.
The other half of mandated fee disclosure is found in the regulation associated with
ERISA § 404(a). This regulation relates to information that plan sponsors must provide to
participants, required to be written “in a manner calculated to be understood by the average plan
participant.” Regarding plan investment options, this regulation not only requires disclosure of
the relatively familiar expense ratio of each investment option, but also fees related to
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“commissions, sales loads, sales charges, deferred sales charges, redemption fees, surrender
charges, exchange fees, account fees and purchase fees.” Plan sponsors must also disclose
administrative expenses of the plan, as well as charges for services provided to individual
participants, such as qualified domestic relations orders and participant loans.
d. New Fiduciary Duty Standards
Finally, the DOL has recently issued new proposed fiduciary duty standards as
presumably the end product of an extremely contentious, multi-year process of expanding
fiduciary duties broker-dealers so that they are subject to the same high standard of conduct
required of service providers that provide discretionary services to plans. In essence, these
regulations represent a shift from the existing lower standard of conduct that requires a broker-
dealer merely to meet “suitability” standards; that is, a broker-dealer must determine that a given
investment is suitable for a potential investor under the circumstances. Under the new regulation,
broker-dealers who sell investment products to plans and in connection with IRAs must meet the
higher fiduciary standard that requires such providers to act in the best interests of participants.
Thus, this regulation widens the fiduciary net so that it captures a broader array of potential
service and investment providers to individuals with respect to their retirement assets, but does
not materially expand the existing fiduciary obligations of plan sponsors.
III. THE ROLE OF AN EDUCATION POLICY STATEMENT
a. An Intentional Approach to Developing Participant Retirement Security
The foregoing review of a plan sponsor’s fiduciary obligations with respect its defined
contribution retirement plan merely cracks open the door to a complex array of compliance
obligations that few employers have either the time or expertise to administer. The standard tool
plan sponsors turn to for help are third-party service providers that provide the requisite expertise
in the various components of the structure and operation of a plan.
Another critical tool that plan sponsors can use to ensure that they meet their fiduciary
obligations and enable participants to maximize the benefit that the plan can provide to their
retirement security is an educational policy statement.
A cousin to the more familiar investment policy statement, an educational policy
statement can provide a valuable road map for both plan sponsors and their participants.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, however, neither ERISA nor the Code requires that plans
adopt an education policy statement. Rather, it can be a resource that provides guidance to a plan
sponsor in meeting the complex array of regulatory guidance that describes its fiduciary duty
obligations, and helps impart essential information to participants that empowers them to take
control of their retirement plan assets and plan for a successful retirement.
b. An Aid to Plan Sponsor Fiduciary Compliance
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The benefit of an educational policy statement is not limited to participants. It can also
provide an intentional and comprehensive framework to assist the plan sponsor in meeting its
fiduciary duty obligations. It can help break down this critical part of a plan sponsor’s fiduciary
landscape into orderly and digestible bites. Such a framework can provide the content, manner
and timing of participant educational activities. When properly implemented, a well-crafted
educational policy statement can provide compelling evidence of a plan sponsor’s responsible
discharge of its fiduciary duties to participants. On the other hand, the best educational policy
statement, if ignored, merely collects dust on the shelf and helps no one. In the event of a DOL
or IRS audit, a dusty educational policy statement can support regulatory sanctions.
IV. EDUCATION POLICY STATEMENT BEST PRACTICES
At its heart, an educational policy statement is a detailed blueprint for the execution of a
meaningful program of participant education. It should be the foundation for an informative,
engaging and understandable educational experience for participants that enables them to direct
their plan account balances in a way that helps them achieve their retirement goals. A plan
sponsor can develop an educational policy independently, but often it will receive assistance
from a third-party advisor to the plan.
a. Assessment
Before developing an educational policy statement, it is important to assess the particular
needs of participants. A group of accounting professionals will have different educational needs
than a group of factory workers. The education program, and hence the educational policy
statement, must cater to the plan sponsor’s participant workforce. This process involves
gathering information about strengths and weaknesses in various aspects of the plan.
Things to assess include:
1. Employee demographics. This should include numbers of participants and
their age distributions.
2. Current participation levels. This includes items such as percentage of
employees who participate in the plan, average deferral rates, average
account balance, number of loans from plan assets.
3. Key plan provisions. Does the plan have automatic enrollment?
Automatic contribution increases? A qualified default investment
alternative?
b. Content
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i. Purpose
This section describes the plan sponsor’s commitment to provide effective participant
education through a formal plan of investment education. An example might be: “This
education policy statement provides a framework for [Plan Sponsor] to develop, implement,
monitor and evaluate a proactive program of participant education that assists participants in
meeting their retirement goals and [Plan Sponsor] in fulfilling its fiduciary obligations.”
ii. Objectives
1. Description of investment options and performance
This component of the educational policy statement is critically important because it helps
fulfill the plan sponsor’s fiduciary duty under ERISA § 404(a) to disclose to participants key
aspects of the plan. The recently implemented regulation under § 404(a) prescribes detailed
requirements for this disclosure. Investment option information must be organized in a format
that provides participants the ability to compare various investment options to each other so that
they can understand the relative risk/reward characteristics of different asset classes (such as
large-cap stock, balanced, and fixed income bond funds). Investment options within a given
asset class must also be compared to broad-based benchmark indices. These disclosures must
provide performance measures over one-, five- and ten-year periods. In addition, the plan
sponsor must disclose fund expenses, including total operating expenses expressed as percentage
of plan assets (i.e., an expense ratio), any other fees and expenses not included in the expense
ratio (i.e., sales loads, redemption fees, surrender charges), and the cost of specific transaction
related to the operation of the plan, such as qualified domestic relations orders and plan loans.
Plan sponsors should pay special attention to their descriptions of investment options that
are target date funds and brokerage windows. A target date fund typically is designed as a “fund
of funds” that references a specific retirement year for the participant. Its mix of funds is
designed to evolve from a more aggressive growth model during earlier years to a more
conservative mix as the participant nears the target retirement date. This option may be attractive
to participants who do not want to be “hands-on” managers of their account balances, yet still
want to ensure a reasonable return over the life of their participation in the plan.
Many plans offer a brokerage window as an investment alternative. This device allows
participants to establish a relationship with a brokerage firm and make specific investments in a
wide range of investment vehicles beyond the standard array of funds otherwise available in the
plan. This option can be exceedingly risky because of the ready availability of high-risk
investments. As a result, many plans limit the percentage of a participant’s account balance that
may be invested in a brokerage window.
Thus, much of the content of this part of the education policy statement is dictated by
detailed regulation. In addition, it should address the ways in which the plan sponsor will
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educate participants on the more specialized investment options available in the plan, such as
target date funds and brokerage windows.
2. Key investment concepts
While the § 404(a) regulation is very specific in its description of required investment
option disclosures, a plan sponsor must also provide education that covers key investment
concepts that promote financial literacy so that participants will be able to make reasonably
informed choices in structuring their investment options within the plan. In providing this
component of participant education, the plan sponsor must take into account the regulations’
standard of communication that requires all information to be presented in a manner calculated to
be understood by the average participant. Communicating relatively sophisticated investment
principles can be especially challenging for a plan sponsor whose participants have relatively low
levels of education generally.
Investment concepts that plan sponsors should consider addressing in their education
policy statement include the risk/return equation related to various classes of investments, the
nature of mutual funds as collections of many individual investment instruments that help reduce
investment risk, the role of benchmarks for various classes of investments, and the balance
between a participant’s risk tolerance and accumulating enough assets to support a satisfactory
income in retirement given the participant’s time horizon.
3. Asset allocation
Once participants are adequately informed about the investment options available to them
and have an understanding of fundamental investment concepts, they should be in a god position
to responsibly manage their retirement assets. The plan sponsor can assist in this process in a
number of ways. The level of support can vary greatly with the most common line of
demarcation being the difference between investment education and investment advice. This
dividing line is significant for plan sponsors because regulations under ERISA say that crossing
the line between education and advice can give rise to additional fiduciary duties. Merely
providing “educational” resources to plan participants will not implicate fiduciary exposure.
Regulations outline four broad areas that constitute investment “education”: (1) information
about the terms of the plan, (2) general financial and investment concepts, (3) asset allocation
models, and (4) worksheets or interactive software that assesses the impact of different assets
allocations on expected retirement income.
Plan sponsors or advisors who venture beyond these categories into individualized
investment recommendations will become plan fiduciaries. Such advice can take the form of
non-discretionary advice where the participant retains full control over final investment decisions
(an ERISA “§ 3(21) advisor”), and discretionary advice where the advisor assumes full
responsibility for managing investments in a participant’s account (an ERISA “§ 3(38) advisor”).
Plan sponsors can determine the extent to which they want to go beyond education and
into advice, if at all. Because of the added fiduciary exposure of advice, however, any such
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decision should be an intentional one. Incorporating the level of education/advice available to
participants should be clearly established in the plan’s education policy statement.
4. Retirement goals
An education policy statement should address how the plan sponsor will help participants
understand the overall purpose of the plan—to provide participants a secure retirement.
Concepts that should be covered include the impact of the timing of retirement on assets
available during retirement, determining living costs before retirement and estimating the
percentage of those costs that the participant will need during retirement, establishing lifestyle
goals during retirement, the need to preserve capital during retirement, the rate of withdrawal
from retirement assets during retirement.
c. Implementation
In addition to establishing substantive goals for participant education, an education policy
statement should also address how the educational program will be implemented. In conjunction
with the initial assessment process of an employer’s participant workforce, the plan sponsor can
determine how frequently to offer formal educational meetings, determine the optimum setting
for such meetings, establish whether to present education modules differently to different
components of the workforce. All components should be geared toward the development of
strategies to maximize participant interest and participation so that the plan sponsor’s retirement
plan can serve its essential purpose of providing its employees with a secure retirement.
d. Evaluation and modification
To the extent an education policy statement establishes goals for the results of the plan’s
educational program in areas such as participation, deferral rate, account balance and asset
allocation, those goals should be concrete enough so that they can be measured, and adjusted if
necessary, from year to year. In so doing, a plan sponsor can accurately measure progress and
maintain flexibility in discharging its education function.
The plan sponsor should also assess the effectiveness of how its education program is
presented to participants. By carefully observing annually the extent to which goals stated in the
education policy statement have been met, the plan sponsor can use this experience to make
adjustments in both content and presentation that are calculated to achieve greater success in
meeting the goals of the education program.
An effective tool for aiding in the evaluation and modification of the education process is
QPSteno. The tool can be used to track trends in participant behavior. As it has the ability to
track participant interactions with all service providers, this tool provides a more complete and
less biased view of participant needs than can be found using self-reporting questionnaires. The
tool can enhance the efficiency of the service providers by illustrating how the participants are
engaging the plan currently and what subjects are most frequently sought during their
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interactions. This information can be invaluable for a responsible plan fiduciary to better evaluate
the educational needs of the participants and to efficiently commit resources to filling those
needs.
V. CONCLUSION
An effective retirement plan is one of the best benefits an employer can offer its
employees. It can help the employer recruit and retain a competitive workforce, and establish an
environment that promotes employee satisfaction and productivity. An intentional policy of
creating and implementing an effective educational program regarding the plan through an
education policy statement benefits both employees in helping them secure a comfortable
retirement, and employers as an aid to meeting their fiduciary duties to plan participants in a
highly complex regulatory environment.