With retirement plan offerings, today’s HR professionals have the burden of minimizing their organization’s risks while ensuring employees are benefiting from and contributing to their plan. This intermediate-level course provides an introduction to retirement plans and focuses on the design and administration of defined contribution plans from a strategic perspective. Fiduciary responsibilities and plan investment and financing are discussed along with plan auditing and evaluation.

• Examine the alignment of retirement plan objectives with organizational strategy.
• Discuss defined contribution plan types.
• Learn key aspects of 401K plans.
• Review fiduciary requirements for retirement plans and understand general investment and financing guidelines.
• Discuss auditing retirement plans to evaluate the effectiveness, financial performance and plan delivery.
• Learn considerations for integrating retirement plans in the case of a merger or acquisition.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed specifically for human resources professionals seeking an overview of defined contribution retirement plans and those preparing to assume responsibility for the detailed administration and management of these plans.

What You Will Learn

Introduction to Retirement Plans

• Retirement – income needs and sources
• Employer-sponsored retirement plans
• Qualified and nonqualified plans
• Aligning retirement plans with organizational strategies
• Objectives of employer-sponsored retirement plans

Employer-Sponsored Plans

• Characteristics of defined contribution plans
• Types of defined contribution plans
• Portability of retirement plans
• Hybrid plans – Target benefit and cash balance

Defined Contribution Plan Components

• Retirement plan regulations
• Design components of DC plans
• Contributions
• Taxation and timing of distribution

Nondiscrimination Tests

• Plan qualification requirements
• ADP/ACP nondiscrimination tests
• Corrective actions for ADP or ACP test failure

Fiduciary Responsibilities and Plan Investment and Financing

• Fiduciary issues
• Financial education vs. financial advice
• Role of retirement plan committee
• Investment policy
• General investment management

Audits and Evaluation

• Why benefits professionals collect and use data
• Plan assessment

Implementing Changes in Retirement Plans

• Advising management of trends and developments
• Obtaining management approval
• Integrating retirement plans following a merger or acquisition