Benefits Of Working With A Local 401(k) Provider

As you can imagine, a company sponsored retirement plan makes a significant impact in attracting and retaining employees. And making sure your plan stays competitive is a key part of retaining top talent, too. How does a company go about ensuring they have a 401(k) plan in place – let alone one that will meet the expectation of its employees? Let’s take a look.

What factors do companies consider when choosing a 401(k) provider?

With efficiency top of mind for many, companies often look for retirement plan providers who provide bundled services, including: fiduciary trust, administration, recordkeeping, compliance, government reporting, and plan document and investment/custodian services.

In addition, plan sponsors review the following investment criteria:

• Investment options with strong historical performance
• Low cost, competitive funds
• Open architecture of the investment platform

Why work with a local retirement plan provider?

While there are several national providers to choose from, I’d encourage you to look into partnering with a local retirement plan provider. There are a number of benefits from working with a local team, such as:

• Working with the same primary contact or team for each interaction with your retirement plan allows you the opportunity to get to know your team. Not only does this help the team better understand your company’s needs, demographics and specific plan provisions, but you’ll also work with the same experts for employee education and client meetings.
• The convenience of a local presence for plan sponsors and participants is one of the greatest benefits of working with a local 401(k) provider. Whether it be group education meetings, one-on-ones with participants, or meetings with the sponsor to work through plan compliance, government reporting or investments, a local partner can be there in person, as needed.
• We live and work in the same communities and oftentimes run into one another at local community or volunteer events. We have an opportunity to know one another outside of business.

How often should plan sponsors evaluate their 401(k) provider?

A good rule of thumb is for a business to perform due diligence on its 401(k) plan every three to five years. Bankers Trust would love the opportunity to further discuss the services we provide plan sponsors as a local, trusted retirement plan partner.