Fiduciary Governance Services
What are Fiduciary Governance Services?
Fiduciary governance services are a suite of solutions delivered to defined benefit and defined contribution plan fiduciaries through our Fiduciary Consulting Group, a team of specially trained colleagues. Our seasoned professionals stay abreast of issues facing fiduciaries and advise our clients on how best to avoid or mitigate them.
What are the benefits of Fiduciary Governance Services?
Our Fiduciary Consulting Group proactively manages the potential impact that may result from changes in the U.S. retirement marketplace and increased litigation related to qualified retirement plans. Our services help to address the assertion of Employee Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA) that individual committee members are personally liable for the retirement plan’s ongoing operations. We can help reduce your personal liability as a fiduciary.
How can Aon help?
A solid approach to fiduciary governance includes understanding the breadth of your obligations as a fiduciary and developing and maintaining a defensive fiduciary governance process.
Our comprehensive suite of fiduciary governance services typically begins with fiduciary training, and includes fiduciary process reviews and risk mitigation through ongoing services.
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Fiduciary Training
Training brings to life the practical implications of ERISA, helping you understand and manage your role as a plan fiduciary. Our informal, interactive sessions go beyond a discussion of the law. We address your questions and concerns, as well as numerous real-life examples of issues facing fiduciaries today. We also offer an online version of the same training. Topics covered include:
- ERISA Background and Perspective
- Basic Concepts and Terminology: Plan assets, key fiduciary roles, and settlor versus fiduciary
- Core Fiduciary Duties and Prohibited Transactions
- Fiduciary Best Practices: Committee structure and governance, overseeing investments, overseeing administration and monitoring expenses
- Risk Mitigation Strategies
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Fiduciary Process Reviews
We assist fiduciaries by assessing the current state of their governance structure and processes, such as:
- The existence, accuracy and consistency of appointment and delegation materials, as well as any committee by-laws, charters and policies
- Meeting frequency and topics covered
- State of committee documentation, reporting, and benefit claims management
- Management of plan audit findings
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Risk Mitigation Through Strong Fiduciary Governance – Ongoing Services
Our ongoing fiduciary governance services deliver value by:
- Creating or reviewing governance and delegation appointment materials
- Creating or reviewing a committee charter
- Developing meeting agendas to help ensure attention to the areas of plan operations and investments you are required to oversee
- Raising your awareness of “co-fiduciary” liability and opportunities to reduce risk
- Helping you understand the differences in decision making processes related to your fiduciary role and the other roles you hold in your organization
- Assisting you in recognizing the differences in advisory models, as not every advisor’s service model reduces or shares fiduciary liability with your
committee - Enabling your committee to more confidently respond to a challenge from the Department of Labor or allegations by participants and
beneficiaries - Providing ongoing documentation by drafting meeting minutes (according to our peer review process), and an annual report to the committee’s appointing body
Additional Fiduciary Governance Services include:
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Fiduciary Oversight Consulting Services (FOCuS)
Help plan fiduciaries minimize risk and the potential for personal liability, provide a framework to support the overall governance process, and incorporate critical DC plan activities, such as fee benchmarking, regulatory deadline tracking and plan design benchmarking.
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Fiduciary Check-Up
Review existing governance documentation, evaluate overall governance structure, identify any inconsistencies and make specific recommendations.
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Expense Policy
Review existing plan document(s), draft an expense policy and create customized chart(s) with plan amendment guidance as needed.
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Committee Charter
Review existing governance documentation and develop a customized committee charter.
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