Each vendor (recordkeeping financial institution, advisor/RIA, broker-dealer, TPA, etc.) to a retirement plan must make a full disclosure under Regulations 408(b)(2) of services and the related fees. The Plan Sponsor must then determine if such fees are reasonable. This must all be accomplished by July 16, 2011.
How can a Plan Sponsor determine if the fee being charged by a vendor is "reasonable"? Only by securing quotes from other vendors. Denis Wheatley (an RIA) in partnership with Plan Design Consultants, Inc. (a TPA firm that has been around for 36 years) can secure several quotes from various recordkeeping platforms and help do a comparison to the current vendor.
See an entertaining cartoon character video on YouTube regarding this process.
YouTube video on comparative service
If any of your accounting clients sponsors a retirement plan and would like to have this comparative service provided at no obligation, please contact Denis Wheatley - see the bar on the right of this blog.