PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2019 - 8

Survey Says
Education
For Plan
Committee
Members
I
t is good practice to educate plan committee
members, and a best practice,
some experts say, to give them fiduciary
training. We asked NewsDash readers
to share whether their firm formally
educates its plan committee, how often
education is supplied (more than one
response was permitted), and whether
this education includes fiduciary training.
Nearly 63.2%, provide formal education,
while 34.2% do not, and 2.6% are
unsure whether such education is offered.
A number of respondents said
committee education and training should
be ongoing. Some use not only on-site
education but require committee members
to attend conferences and/or read articles.
As always, all verbatim responses
reflect the opinions of individual readers
and not the stance of PLANSPONSOR or
its affiliates at Strategic Insight.
" Education is a focus of our trustees. It
includes specific training during onboarding
and then ongoing training every year at
conferences and during meetings. "
" Our committee members specialize
in working with defined contribution [DC]
plan administration and compliance, defined
benefit [DB] plan investments, or company
finance. New regulations and ideas are
presented at meetings, but there is no formal
training that each member must complete. "
" We provide a half-day overview,
including what it means to be a fiduciary
and current case law that may be relevant. "
" We consider fiduciary training part
of our standard DC plan road map and
offer it to all clients. We believe it is essential
42%
Annually
Less than
annually
3%
Semiannually
Timing of
Committee
Education
No set
schedule
36%
When a new
member is
added
12%
to fulfilling our role as a fiduciary to our
clients' plans. "
" [An] annual conference or educational
event is required for the plan sponsor and
recommended for all committee members. "
" Education is a great idea, but currently
it is up to each committee member to seek out
training. Something to think about. "
" Luckily committee membership doesn't
change too often, so we can build on past
education instead of going back to basics like
you have to with plan participants. "
" In addition to our annual training,
trustees are expected to attend additional
training opportunities throughout the year. "
" We feel it's critically important for
our committee members to fully understand
their roles. ERISA [Employee Retirement
Income Security Act] counsel attends every
meeting and then coordinates annual fiduciary
training. "
" Articles of interest are shared at the
quarterly committee meetings. "
" This has been a focus, the last couple
of years. Will it continue? Hopefully, as there
has been committee member turnover. "
8 PLANSPONSOR.com February - March 2019
33%
" It's an ongoing process, of course.
Training is the hook, but appropriate
reminders and 'teaching moments' help the
information to stick. "
" An annual update is given on fiduciary
issues to keep committee members
informed on current topics. "
" Each meeting includes education of
some sort, but fiduciary education occurs one
to two times per year, plus we offer periodic
webinars and one to two seminars per year. "
" I can't imagine anyone would think
education for committee members is an
'option.' "
" We start fiduciary training with a
half-day meeting and then have a shorter
education session at each of our semiannual
committee meetings. "
And the Editor's Choice goes to the
reader who said: " Committee members need
to know upfront about their roles and responsibilities
and be periodically reminded. "
-Rebecca Moore
You can participate by subscribing to
NewsDash at plansponsor.com/subscribe.

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PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2019

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