Episode Summary
Conflicts, compensation and reasonableness, what do these three words have in common? Ok, I ‘ll let you off the hook, these are the key issues at the heart of roughly 90% of the recent 401(k) litigation according to my guest, Jason Roberts ERISA Attorney and Founder of the Pension Resource Institute and the Retirement Law Group. Jason has been repeatedly recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers Magazine. To help employers with those three issues, this episode drills into selecting and monitoring 401(k) service providers, a key fiduciary responsibility and one that is often misunderstood by plan sponsors. Jason shares strategies to determine fee reasonableness in light of the value, six open ended questions to evaluate service providers and unique insights such as low cost at all cost might not be the best fiduciary protection strategy. Finally, be sure to stick around for when he alludes to a criminal lawyer performing an ERISA plan document review. Sorry, 401(k) humor, I hope you enjoy!
Guest Bio
Jason C. Roberts is the Founder and CEO of the Pension Resource Institute (PRI) providing strategic consulting and training to retirement plan service providers and fiduciary education to plan sponsors.
Prior to founding PRI, Jason was a partner and co-chair of the Financial Services Group at a leading, national ERISA law firm where his practice focused on employee benefits and securities regulation. Jason continues to provide counsel on ERISA and investment-related matters at Retirement Law Group, PC and is frequently retained as an expert on fiduciary responsibilities, Department of Labor (DOL) investigations and retirement plan product development, design and implementation.
Jason was named as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers Magazine. He is an active member of the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) and American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA). In 2014, Jason was appointed, for a two-year term, as an advisor for the Beach Cities Health District's finance committee.
Jason is a nationally-recognized speaker and has published numerous articles on fiduciary best practices, ERISA compliance and securities regulation. He is frequently quoted and interviewed by both professional and public publications.
Jason received his B.S.B.A. in Finance & Banking from the University of Missouri and his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law. He is a graduate of FINRA’s Compliance Boot Camp and has obtained the designation of Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™ from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts to enhance Fiduciary Protection, streamline Plan Operations and improve employee Retirement Readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com