Meeting Your Fiduciary Responsibilities - To meet their responsibilities as plan sponsors, employers need to understand some basic rules, specifically the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).  ERISA sets standards of conduct for those who manage an employee benefit plan and its assets (called fiduciaries).  This publication provides an overview of the basic fiduciary responsibilities applicable to retirement plans under the law.

Selecting An Auditor For Your Employee Benefit Plan - Federal law requires employee benefit plans with 100 or more participants to have an audit as part of their obligation to file the Form 5500.  This booklet will assist plan administrators in selecting an auditor and reviewing the audit work and report.

Selecting And Monitoring Pension Consultants - Tips For Plan Fiduciaries - ERISA requires that fiduciaries of employee benefit plans administer and manage their plans prudently and in the interest of the plan’s participants and beneficiaries. In carrying out these responsibilities, plan fiduciaries often rely heavily on pension consultants and other professionals for help. Findings included in a report by the SEC released in May 2005, however, raise serious questions concerning whether some pension consultants are fully disclosing potential conflicts of interest that may affect the objectivity of the advice they are providing to their pension plan clients.

Tips For Selecting And Monitoring Service Providers For Your Employee Benefit Plan - Business owners are responsible for ensuring that their 401(k) plans comply with Federal law and rely on other professionals to assist them with their plan duties. Selecting a service provider is one of the most important responsibilities of a plan sponsor.

Statement of Assistant Secretary Ann L. Combs on the Duties of Fiduciaries in Light of Recent Mutual Fund Investigations - Addresses the obligations of fiduciaries to review mutual fund and pooled investment fund investments with respect to reported and potential late trading and market-timing abuses. Also provides examples of steps to deal with market-timing concerns within plans without losing the protections of section 404(c) of ERISA.

Frequently Asked Questions on the Small Pension Plan Audit Waiver Regulation - FAQs on how to determine whether a small plan has met the conditions for the audit waiver requirements under the amended regulation.

Reporting And Disclosure Guide For Employee Benefit Plans - A quick reference tool for certain basic reporting and disclosure requirements under ERISA.