A fiduciary is judged on how a decision was made, and the file is the only proof of how.
ERISA does not require plan decisions to turn out well. It requires them to be made prudently and in participants’ interest. We review how your plan decisions are actually made and written down, and help build a process that would hold up if the Department of Labor asked to see it.
Most employers make reasonable decisions and keep no record of making them.
The gap we find is rarely a bad decision. It is a good one with no documentation behind it.
Who the Fiduciaries Are
The plan document names a plan administrator, and anyone who exercises discretion over the plan can become a fiduciary. We map who actually makes decisions, because it is often not who the document names. Knowing who acts as an ERISA fiduciary is the first step in any fiduciary process review.
Which Hat Is On
Designing a plan is a settlor decision; running it is a fiduciary one, and different standards apply. We help you tell them apart in your minutes, and counsel settles the close calls. Clear settlor and fiduciary records make any later review simpler.
Committee and Minutes
A benefits committee with a charter, a schedule and minutes turns judgment into evidence. We help set one up at a scale that fits your organization, with minutes focused on the reasons for each decision. Benefits committee minutes are the core record of a sound fiduciary process.
The Documents Themselves
A plan document, a current summary plan description and a wrap document where needed are the foundation. If they do not match how the plan operates, the process cannot rely on them. Current plan documents that match the plan in practice anchor a sound fiduciary process.
Recent laws turned several fiduciary duties into things you must be able to show.
Health plan fiduciaries now have specific obligations with evidence attached. An investigator asks for the evidence first.
Compensation Disclosures
Brokers and consultants to group health plans must disclose the compensation they expect to receive, and the responsible fiduciary should review it. We make sure disclosures are requested, received and reviewed on the record, ours included. Reviewing broker compensation disclosures is part of an ERISA fiduciary’s annual oversight.
Gag Clause Attestation
Plans must attest by December 31 each year that their contracts do not restrict access to cost, quality and claims data. We keep the attestation and the contract review behind it with the plan records. A documented gag clause attestation belongs in every plan’s fiduciary file.
Mental Health Parity Analysis
Plans must be able to produce a comparative analysis of limits on mental health and substance use disorder benefits when regulators ask. We confirm it exists and who prepared it, because the plan answers for it, not the vendor. The plan is responsible for having a documented mental health parity analysis.
The test is whether a stranger could reconstruct your decision from the file.
We aim for a record that shows options considered, advice received and reasons chosen, without turning every renewal into a legal exercise.
Options on Paper
Each major decision records the alternatives considered, even when the answer was to stay put. Staying put for a documented reason is prudent; staying put by default is much harder to defend. Documented alternatives are the heart of a defensible fiduciary process.
Advice Identified
The file shows who advised on each decision: us, the CPAs and attorneys available through us, or a vendor. Relying on qualified advice supports prudence, but only if the reliance is visible. Documented advice is part of a prudent ERISA fiduciary file.
A Calendar That Repeats
Vendor reviews, fee reviews, testing and required filings sit on an annual calendar the committee follows. We build it into DATUM, so the process runs the same way when people change. An annual fiduciary calendar keeps oversight consistent from year to year and from one HR lead to the next.
What employers ask about fiduciary process.
Is a small plan really at risk?
Any ERISA plan can be asked for its documents, and participants can bring claims regardless of plan size. A simple process that is followed protects a small plan better than an elaborate one that is not. Small plans benefit from a simple fiduciary process.
Does hiring a consultant make them a fiduciary?
That depends on what the adviser does and what the agreement says. We advise; the decisions stay with you, and the file should show who decided. A clear engagement agreement keeps the fiduciary roles on the record. Read it before you sign.
Can a review uncover past problems?
Yes, and that is part of its value. Where a past gap needs correcting, such as a missed filing or disclosure, we help you sequence the fix, and counsel decides anything with legal exposure. A fiduciary review is the right time to find and fix past gaps.
Where the Rules Come From.
The laws and rules named on this page link to the statute or regulation they come from. This is general information, not legal or tax advice, and rules change, so check the current text.
ERISA (29 U.S.C. Chapter 18)
The federal law that sets reporting, disclosure and fiduciary rules for employer-sponsored benefit plans.
Mental Health Parity (29 U.S.C. 1185a)
Parity rules for mental health and substance use disorder benefits in group health plans.
Plan Reporting (29 CFR Part 2520)
The Department of Labor rules for annual plan reports, including Form 5500.
Send us your renewal.
We’ll tell you whether it looks competitive, where we see opportunity, and the five questions we’d put to your carrier. No cost, and no obligation to move anything.
The renewal letter
Your current plan summary
Contribution split by tier
Enrolled counts by tier
Four documents — two more if your group is 50 or more. Nothing else; every extra one is a reason to postpone.
An independent employee benefits consulting firm. We look at the entire benefits program — cost, plan performance, risk and administration.
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