The No Surprises Act: A Cost Saving Opportunity for Employer Plan Sponsors
I was very lucky that when I started as an ERISA attorney in 1998, I worked as a staff attorney for a third-party administrator (TPA). It gave me insight and experience that I could never have gotten as an attorney working...more
At work and at home, one of the worst things I ever did was make a mistake and not accept responsibility for it. Instead of owning up, I would make excuses, turning the fight over the mistake into a bigger issue than the...more
As I have always said, the most important 401(k) plan provider you can hire is a Third-Party Administrator (TPA). That’s because a TPA does so much work, and their incompetence can lead to you getting penalized or forcing you...more
As a plan fiduciary, I still can’t believe it. A Third Party Administrator (TPA) we terminated was trying to hold us up for valuations and a Form 5500 we paid for, as part of, annual administration. It was $80,000....more
When I was a kid in day school in Brooklyn, we had a classmate whose shtick was that he was rich. He wasn’t rich, his father was a pa- thologist who worked at a city hospital, his mother didn’t work, and they rented a nice...more
Our “health plan hygiene” series has focused on steps that fiduciaries of employer-sponsored group health plans can take to ensure they meet their fiduciary responsibilities. This issue has been brought to the forefront...more
On September 12, the IRS reminded plan sponsors to review and comply with IRS Notice 2024-02 (the “Notice”), which extended and consolidated deadlines for employers and others sponsoring 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) and other...more
When I was at law school, I was the editor-in-chief of the law school’s newsmagazine. My rise to the top probably had a lot to do with the free time I had by not making law review or any other of the law journals. I failed to...more
What makes a good retirement plan financial advisor? Well, it takes attention to detail, an understanding of what the role to entails, and dedication to the client. In addition, what I find is the way a good financial advisor...more
Earlier this month, a Mayo Clinic employee filed a proposed class action against the clinic, arguing that the clinic’s employee health plan and its third-party administrator (TPA) Medica, underpaid for services performed by...more
How much would you get back in your budget if you could save up to 10% on your medical and Rx benefits costs? Employee benefits are the second largest budget item in employee compensation, with medical benefits consuming the...more
401(k) Errors That Should Require A Plan Provider Change - Change for the sake of change is a bad idea, you need a reason for it. There are certain plan errors when 401(k) plan sponsors should consider change and that...more
Organization Ideas For 401(k) Plan Sponsors To Limit Liability Organization tools always pop up for sale after New Year’s because a lot of people want to try to keep their resolutions. My local Costco always trots out the...more
Unless you delegate a fiduciary function to a plan fiduciary such as an ERISA 3(16) and 3(38)fiduciary, it’s your call on things. When a third-party administrator (TPA) decides on their own that you will refund deferrals...more
When it comes to my law practice, I have an open phone call policy. I entertain phone calls from financial advisors and TPAs around the country and try to help them by answering questions regarding their current clients or...more
401(k) Plan Sponsors Should Focus On What The Government Is Focusing On - In the movie Casino, Robert DeNiro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein wanted to take on the Nevada Gaming Board after they denied his request for his license....more
It’s easier to steal when no one is looking. In Ohio, a former plan participant is facing criminal charges for a fraudulent hardship request....more
When Your Fired 401(k) TPA Takes Things Personally - Aside from Airplane!, my favorite movie of all time is The Godfather and the underpinning is the complete and utter transformation of Michael Corleone from “college...more
A bad third-party administrator (TPA) can be a weapon of mass destruction. So when plan sponsors focus on price or using their payroll provider in selecting the TPA, they neglect the most important attribute of a good TPA:...more
The Problems With Free and Small Retirement Plans - There is no such thing as a free lunch. There is no such thing as free advice. The more years I spend in the retirement plan business; I know that there is no such thing...more
I hate moving. I’ve lived in the same house now for 16 years and I dread the idea of moving and I haven’t put the house up for sale. That’s why I always loathe when there has to be a change of third-party administrators...more
In another consolidation for the retirement plan business, Ascensus, a recordkeeping services provider and third-party administrator announced it has reached an agreement to merge with Newport Group....more
It happened three years ago and I still can’t make sense of it. Where I come from, we call it chutzpah. The third-party administrator (TPA) of a 401(k) plan that I was serving as an ERISA §3(16) administrator overpaid the...more
The snowball effect is a term for a process that starts from something that is small and builds upon itself, becoming larger and also perhaps potentially dangerous or disastrous. The idea is that an avalanche can be started...more
I was a Vice President of a synagogue once and the biggest problem I had is that the people who had a greater say than I did were the same people who turned a synagogue from 750 member families to 300. They were ineffective...more