I was in my seat watching a recordkeeper run an employee enrollment meeting the other day and an employee asked a rather interesting question. He wanted to know why the plan was moving from having one service provider handling all matters to having several service providers handling only the area of their specialty.
It was a great question because it addresses two important issues. Ironically, too few plan sponsors ask this question, let alone their employees.
The idea of asking penetrating questions represents an art honored more in the breech rather than actual practice. Although a bit outdated, the DOL has its own list of recommended questions (to discover why some of them may be outdated, see "10 Questions the DOL Wants 401(k) Plan Sponsors to Ask Their Investment Consultant," Fiduciary News, November 8, 2011).
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Christopher Carosa
Chris Carosa has been writing a weekly article and monthly column for BenefitsPRO online and BenefitsPRO Magazine since 2011 and is a nationally recognized award-winning writer, researcher and speaker. He’s written seven books, including From Cradle to Retire: The Child IRA; Hey! What’s My Number? – How to Increase the Odds You Will Retire in Comfort; A Pizza The Action: Everything I Ever Learned About Business I Learned By Working in a Pizza Stand at the Erie County Fair; and the widely acclaimed 401(k) Fiduciary Solutions. Carosa is also Chief Contributing Editor of the authoritative trade journal FiduciaryNews.com and publisher of the Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, a weekly community newspaper he founded in 1989. Currently serving as President of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and with more than 1,000 articles published in various publications, he appears regularly in the national media. A “parallel” entrepreneur, he actively runs a handful of businesses, including a small boutique investment adviser, providing hands-on experience for his writing. A trained astrophysicist, he also holds an MBA and has been designated a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor. Share your thoughts and story ideas with him through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christophercarosa/)and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ChrisCarosa).
