Category: Advisor Blog
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The Difference Between a Retirement Plan Advisor and a Retirement Plan Salesperson
Many non-profit plan sponsors have never experienced a true advisory relationship. What they have experienced is a product sale followed by minimal ongoing contact. Someone came in, presented a retirement plan option, helped with the initial setup, and then largely disappeared. Annual statements arrive. The plan continues to operate. And the plan sponsor, busy with…
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Understanding the Role of the Pooled Plan Provider
When advisors introduce the concept of a pooled employer plan to a non-profit client, the conversation almost always surfaces a version of the same question: who exactly is running this thing? The pooled plan provider is a term that gets used frequently, but what it actually means, what responsibilities it carries, and why it matters…
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What Non-Profit Clients Need to Know About Fiduciary Responsibility Before They Sign Anything
Fiduciary responsibility is one of the most consequential and least understood aspects of sponsoring a retirement plan. Non-profit executives and board members who authorize a retirement plan, manage one, or serve on a committee that oversees one are, in most cases, serving as fiduciaries under federal law. The implications of that status are real, and…
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Why Some 403(b) Plans Struggle With Compliance and What Advisors Can Do About It
The 403(b) plan has a complicated regulatory history. For decades, these plans operated under a relatively relaxed set of rules compared to their 401(k) counterparts, and many non-profit organizations structured their retirement plans accordingly. When the Internal Revenue Service finalized comprehensive 403(b) regulations in 2007, taking full effect in 2009, it brought these plans much…
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Why Some 403(b) Plans Struggle With Compliance and What Advisors Can Do About It
The 403(b) plan has a complicated regulatory history. For decades, these plans operated under a relatively relaxed set of rules compared to their 401(k) counterparts, and many non-profit organizations structured their retirement plans accordingly. When the Internal Revenue Service finalized comprehensive 403(b) regulations in 2007, taking full effect in 2009, it brought these plans much…
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Reading a Recordkeeper Report: What Advisors Should Be Looking For
Recordkeeper reports are among the most data-rich documents in any retirement plan relationship, and they are among the most consistently underused. Many plan sponsors receive these reports, file them, and never extract the information that would actually help them understand how the plan is functioning. Advisors who know how to read these reports, and who…
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Preparing a Non-Profit Board for a Retirement Plan Presentation
Getting time on a non-profit board agenda is not easy. Board meetings are packed, volunteer directors are time-constrained, and retirement plan matters rarely compete well against program updates, fundraising reports, and governance decisions. When you do get the time, the pressure to make it count is real. Making it count requires a different kind of…
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Talking About Fees Without Losing the Room: A Practical Approach for Non-Profit Plan Conversations
Fee conversations are among the most uncomfortable moments in any advisor-client relationship, and they tend to be even more fraught in the non-profit world. Executives at mission-driven organizations often carry a deep sense of obligation to steward every dollar carefully. When a conversation turns to retirement plan costs, the reaction can range from skepticism to…
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Working With human resources Directors at Non-Profits: The Overlooked Ally in Retirement Plan Decisions
Most advisors working in the non-profit retirement space direct their energy toward the chief financial officer or the board’s finance committee. That makes sense, these are the decision-makers who ultimately approve plan changes and sign off on vendor relationships. But focusing exclusively on the financial gatekeepers means overlooking a figure who often has more day-to-day…
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How to Identify a 403(b) Plan That Has Outgrown Its Current Structure
Not every non-profit organization arrives at your door looking for a retirement plan overhaul. More often, they come in for something else, a benefits review, a board presentation, a compliance question, and only through the conversation does it become clear that their retirement plan has quietly become a liability rather than an asset. Knowing how…