Plan Benchmarking and Fee Analysis

Complete Fee Disclosure is Now the Law

Comparing fees has always been a way for prudent plan sponsors to ensure they were paying a fair price for their services, but recent regulations released by the Department of Labor under ERISA (408(b)(2)) now require plan sponsors to obtain full fee disclosures for their plans and that all such fees be “reasonable” for the services provided. These requirements were put in place because in many cases in the past, fee structures have been hidden or made complex to understand.

Benefits of a Plan Benchmarking Study

Plan benchmarking against a universe of other peer plans allows plan sponsors to meet their regulatory requirements while enhancing plan design, mitigating plan risks, and enabling plan sponsors to determine “reasonable fees” and re-negotiate when necessary.

• Establishes a record for audit and helps fulfill a firm’s fiduciary responsibility
• Provides validation of due diligence process to meet new regulation
• Promotes competitive pricing from new or existing plan providers

Total Transparency with our Fee Summary Matrix

Our benchmarking process compares your plan against current similar peer plans that are comparable by industry, plan size, complexity, participation, employer contributions and investment offerings. Reports are then generated to assist in plan management and support design decisions based on a standard of best practices.

We identify total fund fees, which includes: expense ratios, wrap fees, 12b-1, and revenue sharing arrangements. We also provide a summary of all asset-based, and fixed fees, as well as direct and indirect expenses. We identify all of the providers paid by the plan fees for their services and additional funds available to the plan for additional services. Our fee analysis is summarized in a matrix which highlights the underlying costs of the plan.