Since 1974 when ERISA was first enacted, plan sponsors have understood the "prudent person" rule that they must follow as fiduciaries, and the personal liability they face for losses caused by a breach of that duty.
Today, new regulations mandating full fee transparency, a potentially expanding definition of fiduciary duties, and greater enforcement actions by the Department of Labor are ratcheting up the level of fiduciary risks for plan sponsors.
Through the innovative LPL Financial Retirement Plan Consulting Program, plan advisors who work with plan sponsors can act as co-fiduciary to your plan for assistance with investment selection, helping your plan committee manage many of these mounting pressures.
Retirement Plan Consulting Program: a flexible, powerful solution
The Retirement Plan Consulting Program (RPCP) is a fee-based consulting platform that allows a financial professional of The Lifetime Companies to provide advice to plan sponsors using the LPL Financial corporate RIA. Most importantly, it demonstrates that the LPL Financial advisors that work for The Lifetime Companies are serving as a 3(21) ERISA fiduciary for assistance with recommendations, acting solely in the best interests of the plan and its participants. All of our compensation is agreed upon and paid directly by the plan sponsor client and/or out of plan assets. And finally, because your RPCP advisor is disclosing services, fees, how compensation will be paid, if at termination additional fees are required, and fiduciary status, it all addresses current 408(b)(2) regulatory requirements.
Three Key Benefits to Plan Sponsors
Empowered by objective, independent fiduciary advice, your retirement plan committee will receive:
- Keen insights and best practices to help navigate a maze of complicated regulatory issues and disclosure requirements
- Purpose-built tools, to provide recommendations and monitoring of investments and investment performance that take into full consideration the methodology and documentation that ERISA requires
- Access to comprehensive financial education and enrollment programs designed to improve retirement readiness for your employees
A Complete Array of Investment Fiduciary Services
As an approved advisor in RPCP, the LPL Financial advisors that work for The Lifetime Companies can provide value through an array of services including:
- Assistance with Preparation of OR Assistance with Review of Investment Policy Statement (IPS)
- Ongoing investment monitoring
- Assistance with changes in investment options
- Ongoing investment recommendations
- Performance reports
- Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA) assistance
- 404(c) assistance
- Participant enrollment
- Participation education
- Plan search support/vendor analysis
- Benchmarking services
Benefits to Employers
- Compare existing plan fees to the industry averages
- Easy-to-read format
- Know who, and how much, you are paying