We believe a plan is truly defined by the success of its participants. However, it is very apparent that, on average, employees aren’t saving enough and aren’t invested correctly in order to be “retirement-ready”. They deserve better, so our goal is to help change that.

What we’ll do:

• Develop a goal-oriented communication and education program focused on providing trustworthy support and improving retirement outcomes
• Deliver education and advice opportunities via group education, one-on-one consultations (live and virtual), our Employee Edu(k)ation newsletter, our financial wellness platform – Summit FinWell, and more.  All tailored to your organization's objectives and employee demographics
• Assist in drafting clear, concise, constructive and effective employee communications about plan details, financial education and activities
• Analyze various employee metrics on an annual basis to monitor our collective impact and identify potential education opportunities or plan improvements

Dissecting and understanding the fees within a retirement plan can be an arduous task. Although strides have been made to improve fee-transparency, complexity remains. Yet, fiduciaries are responsible for having a full understanding of the fees charged to their plan and ensuring their reasonableness for the services provided.

What we’ll do:

• Provide a clear and concise breakdown of your total plan fees each year, benchmark them against industry averages and metrics, and document the results
• Identify and implement methods that may reduce plan costs without sacrificing the quality of products and services
• Renegotiate with service providers on your behalf to help ensure economies-of-scale are realized for a growing retirement plan
• Coordinate with providers to maximize their service offerings, such as technology integration, meetings, and education

Fiduciary standards have been characterized as the "highest known to law". Most senior executives, along with certain Human Resource professionals and retirement committee members, are considered to be plan fiduciaries and subject to personal liability.

What we’ll do:

• Educate fiduciaries on their roles and responsibilities
• Implement policies and plan governance procedures
• Prepare meeting summaries and deliverables to help ensure proper documentation of all fiduciary decisions
• Deploy an online Fiduciary Vault for easy access to all plan documentation in case of a DOL or financial audit
• Deliver a Fiduciary Plan Review (at least annually) to continually monitor plan details and operations
• Serve alongside our clients as a fiduciary advisor under ERISA Section 3(21)

Proper investment oversight is not only a critical fiduciary requirement, but it can also play an integral role in employee engagement and retirement outcomes.

What we’ll do:

• Design an Investment Policy Statement (IPS)
• Utilize behavioral psychology to design an investment menu and minimize employee confusion, while maximizing engagement and success
• Evaluate target date funds and Qualified Default Investment Alternatives (QDIAs)
• Prepare quarterly Investment Scorecards to ensure investments remain consistent with the IPS and the plan’s overall objectives

With a great plan comes great responsibility. Administrative to-do’s and required tasks associated with retirement plans can be overwhelming for Human Resource and Payroll professionals. But it doesn’t have to be. By optimizing plan design and correctly leveraging service providers and their technology, we can help you lighten the load.

What we’ll do:

• Review current administrative processes, payroll and plan service providers, and available technology
• Provide recommendations on how to enhance efficiency of current retirement plan administrative processes
• Educate and train administrative staff, as needed

We take plan design very seriously. Whether your goal is to increase participation, improve compliance issues, or maximize benefits for key employees, plan design can easily make or break the success of your retirement plan.

What we’ll do:

• Educate fiduciaries on modern best-practices and how leveraging behavioral psychology can improve retirement outcomes
• Provide an in-depth analysis of plan design including our recommendations and a roadmap on how to implement them
• Ensure critical components such as eligibility, employer contribution formulas, distribution rules, automatic enrollment, and others are tailored to the plan’s objectives and employee demographics
• Proactively review plan design and its effectiveness during our Fiduciary Plan Review

Not all providers (aka “recordkeepers”) are created equal. Selecting one is a serious fiduciary act. Yet we still find many companies being “sold” a provider rather than applying an objective analysis. Demographics, service needs, and plan size are critical factors in finding the right fit at the right cost. And, as a plan grows, the ideal provider several years ago, may not be ideal today.

What we’ll do:

• Initial review and benchmark of existing provider
• Evaluate plan provider through Request for Proposal (RFP) every 3-4 years
• Serve as a liaison between client and provider to manage the relationship and assist with issue resolution