Retirement Plan Benchmark Review

RSA's Retirement Plan Benchmark Reviews provide comprehensive apples-to-apples comparison of a plan's fees, design, support and services to a benchmark group of similar plans.

RSA's Retirement Plan Benchmark Reviews provides information-not conclusions-and can serve as documentation of a thorough and objective process.

Department of Labor regulations under ERISA, and specifically pending section 408(b)(2), require that plan sponsors obtain fee disclosures for their plan and that all such fees be “reasonable” for the services provided.  

RSA's Retirement Plan Benchmark Review can help in working with service providers to meet these requirements and improve the plan.

Overview

RSA’s Retirement Plan Benchmark Review can help you document a thorough and objective process and reach well-informed decisions.
Characteristics Primary Driver
Fees and Value Based Fee reasonableness can only be determined by considering what you're getting for what you're paying
Current- REAL PLAN Data Decisions supported by stale or "mock" data could be misinformed
"Apples-to-Apples" Comparisons For conclusions to be valid, benchmark groups should be comprised of similar plans
Business Model To avoid all potential conflicts of interest, RSA’s Retirement Plan Benchmark Review only business is producing Benchmarks Reports and related research

Current Data

Stale data and comparisons fall short of the fiduciary mark. RSA collects and reports only current, real plan data from a cross section of service providers. For plans to be included in a benchmark group, fees and services must have been bid or reviewed within the last three years. RSA’s approach supports best practices for informed decision making. 

RSA’s Data SourcesCharacteristics
Direct Entry on National Retirement Partners Portal

¨        Real plan data                       ¨        Less than 3 months old

Data Feeds from Recordkeepers ¨        Real plan data                      ¨        Less than 1 month old
Other Information from Recordkeepers¨        Platform data                              ¨        Updated quarterly
Morningstar and investment information¨        Basic investment info           ¨        Updated monthly

Fees and Values

The Department of Labor has stated fees aren't everything, and we agree. RSA’s Retirement Plan Benchmark Review considers fees, services, support and success measures across Benchmarks Reports. RSA comprehensive approach provides the context needed to truly assess a plan's fees reasonableness. 

¨        “Fee” Components: Fees to Recordkeeper; Fees to Advisor/Consultants; Fees to Money Managers;  Fees to Others

¨        “Value” Components:  Participant Success Measures;  Plan Complexity;  Fiduciary Support;  Plan Services;  Participant Services;  Service Standards

Comparisons

RSA builds custom benchmark groups tailored to each plan’s characteristics. This process identifies plans with similar economic profiles, cost structures and designs. Some of the factors considered are plan size, number of participants, company industry, employer match and allocation to index funds. By grouping like plans together, RSA provides the context needed to accurately assess relative plan fees, support, services and success measures. 

Evaluation Factors                                                                  

¨   Assets   ¨ Number of Participants   ¨   Last Year Plan Bid  ¨  Industry  ¨  Plan Type   ¨  Auto Enrollment   ¨  Employer Match ¨   Percentage of Assets in Index Funds   ¨  Percentage of Assets in Managed Accounts