Let us make it easy for you
Bundling all services together allows you to have one reliable connection to set up and manage all aspects of your 401(k) Plan. We partner with an award-winning (Link to OC award won for 5 years in a row) fiduciary Investment Advisor firm to provide optimal investment options, financial advice and education, and Plan guidance to support all of your business’ retirement plan needs.
Independent Recordkeeping, Inc. is the one-stop place to go when you need to find out about your compliance testing or tax filings, because we work directly with your TPA (or can provide one for your convenience) for a seamless experience. You and your employees will have one place to go to manage all retirement plan needs. Put simply, when you bundle all the pieces (partners) of the 401(k) puzzle together, you will have one place to call and a representative that is accountable to you. You may also be entitled to enhanced benefits and preferred pricing, when bundling services together.
*If we are solely providing Recordkeeping services, we will work with you and your partners to operate at the fiduciary level you are looking for.
Bundling
Working with FAN enables a 'la carte or bundled services.
Advantages of bundling include:
- Single point of contact for all services
- Less sponsor involvement in plan management and recordkeeping
- Ease of doing business and less propensity for miscommunication or data errors
- Lower overall pricing for bundled services
A 'la carte services are available, but do you want to do it this way?
Disadvantages of using separate firms for each element of plan management:
- Multiple points of contact can lead to disorganized processes and data discrepancies
- More time consuming and difficult to coordinate all elements of plan management
- Can be more costly than bundling
A 'La Carte
A 'La Carte may be a solution for the organized business owner.
If you like to manage every aspect of your business and have a strong Plan Administrator on-staff, you may prefer to work with each 401(k) service provider separately. The overall cost may be higher, but you can control each partner that you work with and replace them if they are not fitting your needs.
Managing each relationship separately requires that the employer coordinate all service-providers to work together to manage the overall 401(k) plan.
This means coordinating your payroll provider with your investment advisor to ensure contributions are accurately made. Your investment advisor should provide investment guidance to your and your employees, and connect with your recordkeeper to ensure accurate records are kept. You would also need to connect your recordkeeper with your TPA to create the plan, keep records for all transactions and fees, and tax form filings. The 401(K) accounts will need to be opened through a custodian (usually a brokerage firm), that your Investment Manager will need to work directly with.
The employer/sponsor or their Administrator will need to coordinate all these service providers to work together to effectively manage the plan and stay in compliance.
Balancing time & Expense: To Bundle Or Not To Bundle
There are advantages and disadvantages to either option, and it depends on how you like to manage your business.
As dedicated fiduciaries, we can help you decide which path is right for you. Whether you want to be intimately involved with your 401(k) plan management or want us to handle it all for you, we will work to understand what is most important to you.
In California, it is state law that if you have more than 5 employees that you must provide a retirement plan option – either through your business or through the state. There are ways to optimize your plan to maximize your own retirement, while reducing taxes, and we are here to help you navigate.