Great question. It’s one the DOL would say you’d better know. Why? because, as the business owner or as the DOL would say, the “fiduciary” of the plan, it’s your responsibility to “Act in the Best Interest of the Participants.” This means the plan must behave in a way where the employees’ -participants- are appropriately educated about the plan and the fees are in line with the latest benchmarks, averages.

So, where and or how do I figure that out? Two documents contain that information. One is your original agreement from when you started the plan. The agreement will spell out the costs, what they do and the level of responsibility the retirement plan professionals are taking. The second document is the 408b Disclosure they send you at the end of each year. Attorneys write both documents, which can be lengthy and challenging to interpret. It’s possible you might not even have an agreement, but the institution is still required to send you the 408b disclosure.

There is a third place to look. You could look at form 5500. However, if you haven’t already guessed, the costs are often netted against gains and thus kind of hidden from us. Those 5500 form amounts might show the fees to be at a level much lower than they actually are.

If you’d like me to figure out what your retirement plan costs are free of charge, schedule some time, HERE Calendly – Ken Gibbons Financial Engineering LLC  or call me at 908-307-8511

As always, seek the advice of your retirement plan professionals before implementing any method on your own.