Action points for your company’s Retirement Plan

The economic crisis is causing older employees to postpone their retirement, since their saved money has dropped in value. Investments aren’t going to well, and this has also led to inspection regarding compliance.

Here are some points that will assist you in assuring the safety of your company’s retirement plan:

• If you are delegating the implementation of instructions to third parties, make sue that these are being done on time, and in an accurate fashion. This is more important now since most transactions are done without the use of paper. This provider also has the duty to inform the employee, of any changes in the investment value

• Make sure that employee benefits are separated from the company’s assets, because this is a legal requirement. This should legally not take more than 15 days, after the end of month when the payments are withheld from the employees’ wages.

• Do not in any event, delay the payment of the contributions. This may be considered as felonious. With the markets changing from one day to the next, a delay may harm the value of the investments; give rise to losses and thus increasing the possibilities of being sued by your employees. Definitely not worth all the trouble.

• Given the volatility of the markets, consider asking a financial planning manager to come along and give a talk to the employees, about the financial markets, how investments work, and also the value of their portfolios. This way the employees will feel more empowered, since they know what is going on.

• Check your retirement plan for any errors in employee data, and prepare an audit to make sure that the plan is in compliance with the legal requirements.

• Make sure you have all the necessary paperwork, make sure everything is properly signed as it should be.

• Contact an auditor that has experience in the field, ask him for advice and prepare all the necessary forms and documentation he will need to conduct a good audit.

If you follow the above mentioned points, you can sleep rested, knowing that your employees and your company are covered with regards to the retirement plan regulations.