Top Corporate Retirement Planning Companies

How to choose a corporate retirement planning firm

The first question is the advisor's fiduciary role. Some advisors share investment decisions with the employer, while others take full discretion over the fund lineup as an investment manager. Get the role stated in the contract. Ask about credentials such as CFP, AIF or CPFA, and for references from employers with a similar headcount and plan size.

Ask how the firm is paid, whether it receives revenue sharing from funds and how often it benchmarks plan fees. Look at a sample committee report. Check that it works with your payroll system so contributions upload cleanly each pay period.

Red flags include pushing proprietary funds, vague fee disclosure and reluctance to put fiduciary status in writing.

How retirement plan advisory fees are set

Advisors charge in three common ways: a share of plan assets, a flat annual fee or a fee per participant. Recordkeepers and administrators bill separately, and some costs come out of participant accounts while others are paid by the employer. The fee disclosures required under ERISA set out who is paid what, and are worth reading line by line.

Cost rises with the number of participants, plan assets, design complexity such as several contribution formulas or a cash balance add-on, and the level of fiduciary responsibility the advisor takes on. Individual employee meetings add time. Startup plans for small employers are simpler to run but can cost more per head. Compare quotes on total plan cost rather than on the advisor's fee alone.