SECURE ACT
PC
Enter the Pooled Plan Provider Thinking about becoming a PPP? Here’s a look at how taking the plunge could benefit your firm.
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Board of Directors, an owner or officer of a company sponsoring a qualified plan under Code Section 401 (typically a 401(k) or ERISA 403(b) plan), these folks are already fiduciaries. Many company officers do not realize this. Even if they do, they probably do not appreciate the gravity of their responsibilities. Every person I have ever encountered who understands his or her fiduciary risks and responsibilities
wants to get rid of them—as fast as possible! No one wants to be a fiduciary. So, if you would like to offer a unique service to your plan sponsor clients by taking on virtually all their fiduciary responsibilities, you should consider becoming a Pooled Plan Provider (PPP). Since the passage of ERISA in 1974, plan sponsor fiduciaries have always been able to hire outside fiduciaries to reduce their risk. But why, more than
FILIP ROBERT
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emember the childhood game called “Hot Potato”? If you have never played it, today’s version plays a musical tune while players continually toss the “potato” to someone else. The one holding the “potato” when the music ends is out. Play continues until one person remains—the winner. If you have been in the retirement plan business for any length of time, you know that if a person is on the
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BY DICK BILLINGS
PLAN CONSULTANT | SUMMER 2020
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5/15/20 4:19 PM