Without a doubt, the 401 k retirement plan has become one of the most popular choices when it comes to planning and saving up for retirement. One of the main reasons is that more and more employers or companies have started to offer them to their employees. However, it also cannot be denied that with its rise in demand, the level of service and assistance for participating employees have also decreased and dwindled. Employers have their own 401 k plan administrators, responsible for everything that is related to the company and of course the employees’ 401ks. And sad to say, there are companies who fail to keep an eye on how the administrators do their jobs, thus neglecting the queries, doubts and of the course the needs of the employees.
What Do 401 k Plan Administrators Do?
To further understand and ultimately gauge if the company’s 401 k plan administrators are dedicated to their jobs, it is important for the employees to be fully aware of what their duties are. This would also help set the right kinds of expectations, especially since this deals with the management and administration of their 401 k retirement plan.
- Managing costs – administrators are tasked to handle the management of the costs to run a plausible 401k plan. They make sure that fees such as administrative fees and mutual fund fees are taken care of.
- Finding the best Third Party Administrator (TPA) for taxes and 401 k forms – this is really important because without the right TPA , forms and payments may not be diligently accomplished. The TPA reminds your resident 401k admin about which forms to file and when the due dates are.
- Educate the employees – Plan administrator are considered experts in the field, which means that they are the most suited group of individuals to educate and update employees with regard to contribution deductions, computations, maximum and catch up payments and of course deadlines. They should also explain to you the many 401k benefits that you are entitled to enjoy.
- Enrollment and Compliance – the administrators are responsible for enrolling employees and making sure that each and every participant, including the company is compliant to the rules and regulations of the plan.
And since the deadline for contributions for your 401k plan is on the 31st of December, 2015, your company’s 401 k plan administrators should make sure to remind you and let you know about the status of your plan.
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