Explore a Framework for identifying and evaluating Plan Fees and Revenue Sharing practices that impact Participant value and create Plan Sponsor liability. While the cost of an employer match or profit sharing contribution is covered entirely by the Plan Sponsor, the cost of administration, investments, and advice are often accrued to the Participant. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this practice, it does convey a very important responsibility to the Plan Sponsor; keep my fees Reasonable!

In today’s world of complicated fee structures, what should a Plan Sponsor do to ensure their fees are kept at a reasonable level; especially those fees they have chosen to pass along to their Participants.

In this session, we will:

- Apply a Framework to identify and evaluate plan revenue sharing in all of its forms and determining its reasonableness in paying for recordkeeping, administration, investments, and advice.

This session will focus on the distribution process of a defined contribution plan.

Attendees will:

• Identify the various types of distributions

• Recall how to design audit procedures to cover the identified assertions

• Identify testing procedures, including sampling, over the various types of distributions (retirements, rollovers, hardships, loans, etc.) as well as the different forms of payment (lump sum, annuities)

• Recall that testing will include vesting considerations

• Recall the testing and financial reporting for participant loans

This session will discuss best practices for training your EBP team on effectively planning and completing plan audits. Attendees will:
• Evaluate their EBP team's needs, considering experience level and firm size/workload, to develop an internal training program
• Assess where to find resources and develop an effective and efficient training curriculum for their team, considering common deficiencies, regulatory focus/developments and types of plans audited
• Reconstruct conference experience and networking with other EBP firms of differing specialties and EBPAQC resources to build their firm’s EBP knowledge base and collaborate with outside professional resources
• Predict which firm templates need to be developed, improved and leveraged to improve formal training programs as well as ease of on-the-job training
• Learn how to develop professional relationships to help your firm fill in the knowledge or expertise gaps to prepare for the time when these resources are needed to be called upon.

Discussion of basic qualified plan nondiscrimination issues including:

- coverage

- discrimination testing

- 415 testing

- 402g limits (401K-m plans)

- 414q and 414s (compensation testing)

- top heavy rules

Objectives:

1. Identify basic nondiscrimination testing required for qualified retirement plans.

2. Identify impact and correction of failure of nondiscrimination tests for a qualified plan.

This session will focus on investments held by a defined contribution plan. Facilitators recommend bringing your laptop to this session to fully participate in the case study.

Attendees will:

• Identify the key characteristics of various investments commonly held by the plan, including insurance products, common/collective trust funds, pooled separate accounts, mutual funds, and self-directed brokerage accounts.

• Recall how to design audit procedures to cover the identified assertions

• Identify testing procedures, including sampling, over investments and investment income

• Recognize some of the unique financial reporting requirements for investments