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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    ERISA

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, June 11, 2024

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$347.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will prepare in-house counsel and ERISA plan fiduciaries to conduct requests for proposals (RFPs) for retirement plan service providers. The panel will discuss when and how often plan fiduciaries should undertake an RFP process, outline the elements that make up a comprehensive and effective RFP, and offer practice pointers to meet ERISA fiduciary duties and achieve better outcomes for the company and plan participants.

Faculty

Roberta Casper Watson
Partner
The Wagner Law Group, LLP

Ms. Watson focuses on ERISA and employee benefits. She concentrates on a wide array of areas including, pension and profit sharing plans, health and welfare benefit plans, including COBRA, HIPAA and the Affordable Care Act, ERISA fiduciary decision-making, Employee Stock Ownership Plans, benefits litigation backup, benefits aspects of mergers and acquisitions, employee benefits aspects of family law, labor laws affecting employee benefits, other employee benefits and deferred Compensation, and employee benefit disputes and employee benefits claims.

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Andrew Douglass
Partner
Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP

Mr. Douglass is a partner in the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation practice group. He advises public and private companies on plan design and administration, fiduciary responsibility, claims procedures, and disclosure requirements under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, and other laws. Mr. Douglass has extensive experience guiding them regarding the legal, financial, and administrative issues that affect qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and other employee benefit arrangements, including issues that arise during mergers, acquisitions, and other business transactions. He has a multidimensional approach to advising clients because of his background with doing employee benefits work as an actuarial consultant for a large public accounting firm. Mr. Douglass counsels clients regarding joint venture, debt and equity, private equity, financing, and M&A transactions. He also advises them through audits and other proceedings before the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

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Description

Companies have important fiduciary responsibilities under ERISA to properly select and monitor the effectiveness of the service providers for their retirement plans and the reasonableness of their fees. Legal counsel and human resources/employee benefits professionals can assist companies in meeting their fiduciary duties on these considerations by conducting periodic RFPs.

Best practices generally require that plan sponsors engage in an RFP process every few years to satisfy ongoing ERISA fiduciary and monitoring responsibilities. Because participant lawsuits filed under ERISA and IRS/DOL audits relating to plan service providers have increased significantly in recent years, counsel should prepare to guide their companies through RFP processes.

Listen as our experienced panel prepares employee benefits counsel and ERISA plan fiduciaries to plan for and conduct RFPs for retirement plan service providers. The panel will discuss when plan fiduciaries should undertake an RFP process, outline the elements that make up a comprehensive and effective RFP, and offer practice pointers for using the RFP process to meet fiduciary duties and achieve plan goals.

Outline

  1. Overview of ERISA requirements and DOL guidance
  2. Elements of a thorough RFP questionnaire
  3. Interviewing service provider candidates
  4. Documenting the RFP process

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • When and how often should plan fiduciaries undertake the RFP process?
  • What essential questions should be included in the RFP questionnaire regarding a service provider's fees, the scope of services, and cybersecurity procedures?
  • How can my company obtain enhanced contractual provisions in the agreements with our service providers?