We help business owners make smart decisions with their personal money and their company’s retirement plan. So they can focus on what they do best, run their business and enjoy their life.
5 STEPS TO A STRONGER RETIREMENT PLAN
STEP 1
PLAN EVALUATOR
A CLEAR PICTURE OF YOUR OBJECTIVES, CONCERNS, AND OPTIONS FOR OTHER PLAN SOLUTIONS
STEP 2
PLAN OPTIMIZER
WE CONDUCT A STUDY TO FIND OPPORTUNITY FOR TAX BENEFITS
STEP 3
FIDUCIARY SHIELD
WE HELP CONTROL RISK BY MEETING SPECIFIC CRITERIA
STEP 4
PAYCHECKS FOR LIFE
WE HANDLE THE TRANSITION, ENROLLING, AND EDUCATING FOR YOUR COMPANY
STEP 5
WEALTHCARE MONITOR
WE CONTINUALLY ENHANCE YOUR PLAN
Experience: We’ve been designing retirement plans for more than twenty years. We structure retirement plans to maximize contributions by owners. We consider all plans available to employers, including Safe Harbor 401(k) plans, Profit Sharing plans, Defined Benefit plans, non- qualified plans and Simple IRAs.
Bob Bove wrote this book, explaining our approach to 401(k) plan design.
10 questions we ask:
1. Are you happy with your 401(k) plan?
Plan design can make a big difference in how your plan operates and how benefits are provided to key employees and staff. A well-designed plan is the first step in a successful outcome for your plan and could result in significant employee cost savings.
2. Do your employees feel informed about how to save and invest wisely?
We have been in your employee’s shoes, so we ensure that receive proper education, feel confident in their retirement plan choices and attention from our team. We meet with the participants to discuss and review asset allocation, risk tolerance questionnaire, Desirement goals, etc.
3. Does your plan provide diversified investment models?
The 4:8 Group team will create several models with specifically defined investment goals that range from conservative to aggressive growth. These broadly diversified investment models along with our risk tolerance give participants direction, rather than leaving them to select individually from a complex list of mutual funds.
4. Are you meeting your fiduciary responsibility?
Plan sponsors have many fiduciary responsibilities including prudent selection of investments, annual review of the investment line-up, employee education and documented annual trustee meetings. We help ensure you meet all your fiduciary responsibilities.
5. Is your current plan professional a broker or a fiduciary?
Many individuals providing services to plans are brokers. By definition a broker is technically not allowed to make investment selections for the client or offer investment advice to participants. In contrast a registered investment advisor (RIA) provides investment selection and participant advice because the RIA takes on the responsibility of being a co-fiduciary on the plan.
6. Do you know the internal costs of your current plan?
There are many hidden costs in the operation of plans. Many times these fees are unknown to the Plan Sponsor. A thorough analysis of plan costs can show that the largest fee component is actually due to the fund selection and platform. By using low cost institutional mutual funds from DFA our Plan Sponsors can confidently offer a diversified, low-cost solution for Participants.
7. Are your plan investments reviewed at least on an annual basis?
Investment selection is a key component in plan structure. A plan needs to be reviewed at least on an annual basis relative to appropriate benchmarks and the internal cost of the funds.
8. Are you failing any compliance test each year?
The most common test performed is on the contributions made by the employees and the owners as deferrals or employee contributions. If the highly paid employees (those earning over $115,000 in the prior year) are receiving an amount that is 2% higher on average than the lower paid employees, contributions of the higher paid employees will need to be returned. There are ways to mitigate this problem.
9. Can you confidently say you have the best possible plan?
The 4:8 Group has been working with 401(k) plans and their Plan Sponsors for decades. Every Plan Sponsors we work with has pressing commitments beyond their 401(k) plan design, so we make evaluating the alternatives a transparent and easy process.
10. May we gather information and prepare a free review of your plan?
We offer a free plan evaluation with proper information in order to prepare a review of your plan and determine whether we offer a better alternative.