401k Providers - 5 things to look for and what you want to avoid

Did you just do a search for 401k providers? If so, you likely found a myriad of links and people vying for your attention and clicks. Understandable, people are looking to sell you a plan if you are ready to buy. 401k providers, 401k provider, best 401k providers

But do you know what to stay away from if you hear a 401k provider say it?

Do you know what questions to ask the many TPAs (or 401k providers) that will happily set you up with any plan regardless of if it's the best fit for you?

How will you know if you are you taking advantage of all of the tax deductions that are available through a qualified retirement plan? Do you need to start a 401(k) plan before the end of the year?

401k providers vary greatly in the quality of services and plan design help they offer. We call our company Benefit Resources because we are your #1 Resource for retirement plan administration. We often set up 401k plans, but offer a variety of other plan types if you are interested. We don't want to set you up with any plan and hope you are happy enough to not leave us.

We want you to have the best plan available to you, and tailored to you based on the needs of your company, because your company has different demographics and needs than the company next door. 401k providers, best 401k providers, 401k provider

Here are three things that we do as a 401k provider that you won't find elsewhere. Below you'll see what to look out for and if you hear them, even if wrapped up in pretty terms, run. You won't get what you need from a national provider. 

  • Our focus is on you; on helping you reach your retirement goals, on keeping your plan in compliance, and on helping you meet your obligations for maintaining a plan.
  • We are retirement specialists; just as lawyers, doctors and engineers specialize in specific areas, we are specialists in retirement. The laws and regulations are extremely complex. We will help you use them to your advantage.
  • We sell service; our focus is on helping you and your staff keep your plan running smoothly. We do not sell investments, so you are free to invest however you may wish.

 Our services are head-and-shoulders above to the typical national retirement plan provider:

What we do:

  • BRI keeps copies of your signed plan documents and will confirm that while you are our client your documents are kept up to date.
  • BRI reminds you every year about your ERISA bond requirement.
  • BRI provides you updated Safe Harbor and Automatic Enrollment notices to send to your employees each year.
  • BRI works carefully with you to design your annual contribution. If you’re having a good year, then we’ll help you contribute more so you can increase your tax deductions. If you’re struggling a little this year, then we’ll help you dial back to the minimum required. Our compliance and contribution calculations are complete and flexible.
  • BRI scrubs and carefully reviews your employee records each year. We’ll ask questions if we think someone is related to the owners, or if you have new corporate officers who may now be key employees. If a revision is required we’ll get it fixed – we won’t point the finger back at you and blame the data.New Call-to-Action

What you might expect at national 401k providers

  • Being sent a package and with “hopes” that you follow instructions.
  • You may not hear you need an ERISA bond, or only hearing it as an after thought.
  •  A provider that only gives you their fee disclosure notice and you'll have to do your own annual notices.
  • A provider that makes you tell them how to allocate your contribution.
  • A provider that relies on the data you provide without asking questions, expecting you to determine key employees and highly compensated employees, and point the finger when mistakes are caught later.

If you have considered a national 401k provider, think again. You'll want someone who has the time to talk to you and who knows you by name, not account number. Someone who picks up the phone when you need them, instead of getting stuck in a phone tree and having to explain the problem to 4 people before getting the help you need.

Call BRI to provide TPA services for your new or existing retirement plan. You deserve the peace of mind and competence that our highly-trained, certified administrators bring to the table every day in working for you.

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You might also like:

What's the best Pension Plan for you?

Pension Administration - The help you need

Start a Retirement Plan - NOW!

 

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