Toolkit Helps Fiduciaries Fulfill Their Duties
OMAHA, NE, September 8, 2003 -- Most people have a general understanding of how a 401k or pension plan works. What they might not understand however, is the role of the plan's fiduciary.
A fiduciary is anyone with discretion or control over the assets or management of a pension plan. Fiduciaries have an opportunity to play a key role in designing the company's retirement plan. But with that opportunity comes responsibility to create the best possible outcome for the plan and its participants.
According to Mutual of Omaha Vice President Ryan Bauer, the company has designed a Fiduciary Toolkit to help educate fiduciaries about their responsibilities in maintaining their plan.
"Fiduciaries have a tremendous responsibility of selecting and monitoring their plans' investments to create positive returns for plan participants. Key to that is making sure the plan is managed properly," Bauer said. "We think the Toolkit will help fiduciaries meet their responsibilities without exposing them to unnecessary risk."
Bauer said a key component in the Toolkit is a fiduciary checklist, which provides the following step-by-step process for how to design and monitor a plan:
- Establish an investment policy for your plan
- Select diversified investment options consistent with your investment policy
- Select the investment managers for each of the investment offerings in your plan
- Select the service providers for your plan
- Provide information regarding the investment options to participants
- Consider compliance with ERISA Section 404(c)
- Monitor your plan's investment offerings and make any necessary changes in the investment policy or investment offerings
- Monitor the performance of the plan service providers
"Fiduciaries have a direct impact on the retirement income available to plan participants. We're confident this Toolkit will be a valuable resource for our customers as they make decisions on how to best administer their plans," Bauer said.
Mutual of Omaha ( http://www.mutualofomaha.com ) is a full-service, multi-line organization providing insurance and financial services products for individuals, businesses and groups throughout the United States.
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