PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - 46

This year's Best in Class
401(k) plans-chosen for
administrative, fiduciary
and plan design elements-
continue to raise the bar
T
he ultimate driver of whether any retirement plan will
achieve success for an individual participant is how much
money is saved in, or contributed to, that plan. Which, of
course, can be challenging for retirement plan sponsors, who
have much more control over other elements of their plan design
and administration than participant savings rates. However, at
PLANSPONSOR, we believe that best-practice plan design keeps
people deferring enough, and staying invested long enough, to
build a nest egg.
Therefore, four years ago, we introduced the " Best in
Class 401(k) Plan " designation, given to 401(k) retirement plan
sponsors that meet a standard of excellence as defined by the
PLANSPONSOR research and editorial teams. The 26 plan
sponsors recognized this year were selected from the more than
3,700 that responded to the 2017 PLANSPONSOR Defined
Contribution (DC) Survey.
What does it take to qualify as a Best in Class 401(k) Plan?
Plans were rated by way of a proprietary system that weighted
usage/implementation of 35 criteria. The requirements reflect
what we at PLANSPONSOR view as industry best practices for
offering employees a 401(k) plan. The plan sponsor should:
be committed to strong oversight and governance practices;
produce positive outcomes related to helping employees prepare
for retirement-e.g., high participation and/or deferral rates;
and use features that make it easier, not harder, for participants
to achieve their retirement savings goals.
The Best in Class plans are determined by using a combination
of a fixed and a sliding scale across a range of criteria.
Readers familiar with our annual DC Survey know the breadth
of the topics covered in the questionnaire.
Most of the criteria are simply things that earn or remove
points from a plan's total score, but there are a few " knockout "
criteria for designation: having an investment committee,
46 PLANSPONSOR.com February-March 2018 Art by Roman Kloneck
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PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018

25 Years of Retirement Plans
2017 DC Survey: Providers
2018 Best In Class 401(k) Plans
Trends in Risk Assets
What Lower Fees Reveal
Sandwiched Between
Nondiscrimination Testing
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - Cover1
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - Cover2
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - 1
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PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - 25 Years of Retirement Plans
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PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - 2017 DC Survey: Providers
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PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - 2018 Best In Class 401(k) Plans
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - 47
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PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - 53
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - Trends in Risk Assets
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - 55
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - What Lower Fees Reveal
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - 57
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - Sandwiched Between
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - 59
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - Nondiscrimination Testing
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - 61
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - 62
PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - 63
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PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - Cover3
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