As an employer, you have clients, payroll, health insurance premiums, long hours, and yes, you are short on time. But let's take a moment to examine a phrase you have most likely used 100 times before: "we're all set."

What does that really mean? Let's look at the average retirement plan compared to the best retirement plans. Then we can uncover what it means to truly be "all 401(k) set."

Does your 401(k) plan suffer from being "average"?

In countless plan sponsor meetings, I've been asked, "What does the average 401(k) plan look like?"

What employers are asking for is a no-hassle, right down the middle, typical employee benefit. Because if it's good enough for the other guy, then it's good enough for us, too.

As a plan sponsor, employer – or human – when do we ever want to be "average"?

Here it is; this is your "average" 401(k) offering:

• 78% of full-time workers have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan

• 58% of plans have an automatic enrollment feature

• The most common default deferral is 4% (52% of plans)

• 87% of eligible employees participate in their plan

• Average salary deferral for participants was 6.8%

• The most common default investment option is a target-date fund ( 72% of plans)

• The average employer contribution in 401(k) plans is 3.8% of pay

• 42% of companies match dollar-for-dollar

• 67% of companies retain an independent investment advisor

However, here are some other interesting retirement statistics.

• 26% of workers say they have less than $1,000 in savings

• 54% of workers report that the total value of their household's savings and investments is less than $25,000

• 64% say they need $250,000 or more saved to retire comfortably, yet only 14% of workers actually have $250,000 or more in savings and investments

• 68% of audited plans by the DOL resulted in monetary recoveries or other corrective actions

•  The average DOL monetary correction for FY 2016 was over $570,000

So, we ask you, do you believe your plan and employees are really "all set?"

Your two important responsibilities

As a plan sponsor and decision-maker for your company's retirement plan, you have two important responsibilities: to demonstrate prudent fiduciary governance and to help your employees successfully retire.

Let's address each responsibility separately and what you can do that may take your plan from average to excellent.

1. Demonstrate fiduciary plan governance

a. Establish a retirement plan committee. Formalize a team of professionals that will govern the company's retirement. Key members may include the CEO, CFO, HR Director, Retirement Plan Advisor, ERISA Attorney, and/or additional experienced decision makers.

b. Adopt a Charter and Investment Policy Statement. Outline the roles and responsibilities of the committee. Implement an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) that formalizes the committee's investment review process.

c. Meet regularly and take meeting minutes. If it's not written down, it didn't happen. Take the time to appropriately document your meetings including the discussed rationale for why (or why not) a plan decision was made.

d. Track outcomes. Evaluate your plan's effectiveness. Is the company's retirement plan actually helping your employees retire?

e. Be honest. It is a big responsibility and sometimes it feels like you are financially burdening your employees. You are making financial decisions on behalf of your colleagues. However, even though the decisions can be challenging, the bold actions you take today to prepare your employees for retirement, the better you are actually making their future lives. Plus, keep in mind that your employees can always un-enroll from the plan.

2. Help employees successfully retire

a. Yes, this is possible. But, it's not going to happen overnight.

b. Focus on what you can influence. As a plan sponsor, you can control auto-enrollment and auto-escalation plan features. Today, the average auto-enrollment deferral percentage is 4%.

Experts say that employees should be saving between 10 – 15% per year for a successful retirement. Try it. Auto-enroll your new hire employees at 12%.

Don't worry, your plan participants can always change the deferral percentage or un-enroll from the plan. However, with most new hires, the first paycheck often sets the tone for the employee's budget; thus, many new hires won't even notice they are retirement plan saving all-stars.

c. Re-enroll and backsweep the un-enrolled. Average retirement plan participation is about 87%. Does that mean that only 87% of employees want to retire? Probably not.

Well, it's time to automatically enroll those employees. A lot of time the employees had good intentions to enroll in the plan, just life and time got in the way.

Remind your un-enrolled employees and take the proactive actions needed to re-enroll and backsweep them in the plan, thus encouraging them to save for their future.

d. Excite and motivate. For your employees, saving for retirement can be embarrassing, stressful, and/or overwhelming. Offer them education and a source they can go to for financial help.

This could be support from your current service providers, a financial wellness company, online tools, and/or other strategies. Within your retirement plan committee, talk about what tools and resources are available and then share the information with your employees to get them motivated to save.

Every penny saved will help your employees get closer to their retirement goals. As a plan decision-maker, you have an incredible opportunity to make a meaningful difference in your coworker's financial lives.

As you take the time to formalize a fiduciary plan governance strategy and focus on how you can review current plan demographics to increase employee success, we'll leave you with one last thought.

At the beginning of this article you read about the "average" retirement plan that many plan sponsors are comfortable settling with. But, when you set out to build your company you didn't aim for average, so why would you want an average retirement plan?

TrueNorth Retirement Services – Our integrity is our success. At TrueNorth Retirement Services , we can help make your journey easier. We believe in honesty, reliability, and hard-work. As fee-only fiduciary advisors, we sit on the same side of the legal table as plan sponsors providing sound investment advice. We listen to plan sponsors and understand your challenges. Our goal is to understand your needs and then try to create a plan to address those needs. We appreciate the opportunity to assist you, your company's retirement plan, and your participants, by addressing financial matters.

Advisory services offered through TrueNorth Wealth and Idaho Medical Association Financial Services, A Registered Investment Adviser.

This information was developed as a general guide to educate plan sponsors and individuals, but is not intended as authoritative guidance or tax or legal advice. Each plan has unique requirements, and you should consult your attorney or tax advisor for guidance on your specific situation.