By:  Braden Priest, CFA®, Retirement Plan Consultant

Congratulations! Your company offers a retirement plan for employees to save for their future. Did you know you might now be a fiduciary as well? If you meet one of the criteria below, you may now have fiduciary responsibility and liability:

1. “Named Fiduciary” – The named fiduciary is most often the plan sponsor, who is typically either the owner of the company or the Board of Directors.
2. “Functional Fiduciary” – Even when you are not a named fiduciary, you may be a fiduciary if you either:
   1. Exercise any discretionary authority or control over the management of the plan or its assets.
   1. Have any discretionary authority or responsibility over the administration of the plan.

Who are Common Fiduciaries?

1. Employers and Plan Sponsors are often named fiduciaries or become functional fiduciaries through their actions.
2. Corporate Officers or Board of Directors are not automatically fiduciaries, but if they are responsible for the selection of other plan fiduciaries, such as an investment advisor or ERISA counsel, then they are acting as a functional fiduciary.
3. Retirement Committee Member are fiduciaries to the retirement plan if they are serving on your company’s retirement plan committee and they have discretionary authority or control over the plan and its assets.

Reach out to one of our Retirement Plan Advisors today to see if you might be a fiduciary to your plan, and more importantly, see how to mitigate the liability that comes along with such a responsibility.

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