Low Cost 401k Providers, How to Get Index Funds in 401(k) Plans and Other FAQs

 


What do you mean when you say you offer “the lowest total costs?”
What are your service standards?
Do you offer 401(k)s to start-ups?
Do you work with investment advisors and other TPAs?
What investments do you offer?
Can I get Vanguard?
Can I get ETFs?
How secure is our money?
I know you offer 401(k) plans, do you offer other qualified retirement plans as well?

 

What Do You Mean When You Say You Offer “the Lowest Total Costs?”

 

Our fees, $1,500 for up to 30 eligible employees and $30 per eligible thereafter, less any revenue sharing we receive, is the lowest cost for full service daily recordkeeping and administration in the industry. In addition, since we offer any fund from any fund company, plan sponsors and their advisors can dramatically reduce investment costs. Don’t believe us? We offer free apples-to-apples comparisons—showing all 401(k) fees—with your current provider. Send our comparison to your accountant, advisor or counsel. You won’t find another provider offering lower total cost 401(k) retirement plans anywhere in America.

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What Are Your Service Standards?

 

We are full-service 401(k) administrators and 401(k) recordkeepers. Our service standards have been rated among the best in the industry. They include:

  • 100% of electronic contributions (such as ACH) invested within 48 business hours of receipt of orderly data and funds
  • 100% of participant transactions processed within 24 business hours of receipt of orderly data and funds
  • Assumption of co-fiduciary responsibility to assist plans in meeting or exceeding fiduciary standards in regard to the performance of administration and record-keeping functions
  • All necessary testing—actual deferral percentage (ADP) testing, actual contribution percentage (ACP) testing, non-discrimination testing, top heavy testing, and new comparability testing—completed accurately within 30 days of receipt of data
  • Form 5500s, Summary Annual Reports and other necessary forms prepared within 30 days of receipt of data
  • Continuous data backup in two separate, secure remote locations
  • New plans set up within 5 business days on receipt of accurate and reconciled data
  • Conversions completed within 10 business days on receipt of accurate and reconciled data
  • Customized enrollment kits printed and shipped within 15 business days of receipt of signed approval
  • Distribution and loan requests processed within 5 business days
  • Participant statements prepared and mailed or e-mailed within 15 business days of the end of the quarter
  • Broker/advisor payments processed within 24 hours of Plan Sponsor approval
  • Free customized proposals and plan comparisons delivered within 48 business hours
  • Online TPA census and contribution reports
  • Calculation of participant eligibility
  • Calculation of participant vesting balances
  • Single point of contact
  • Same-day reply to all phone calls and email

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Do You Offer 401(k)s to Start-ups?

 

We guarantee the lowest cost 401(k) plans for any sized company from start-up to $20 million in combined assets. By lowest cost, we mean lowest total costs, meaning all costs paid for by the company and its employees. Small business 401(k) plans typically claim to be cheap, but shift nearly 100% of the costs to participants, who are charged much higher than average investment fees. Mutual fund companies and/or insurance providers deduct investment fees and wraps directly from participant returns to subsidize actual plan costs. These undisclosed charges cost plans—especially small plans—thousands and expose employers and their advisors, who have a fiduciary responsibility to run plans solely in the best interest of employees, to the possibility of lawsuit.

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Do You Work With Investment Advisors and Other TPAs?

 

We welcome any outside advisors (including RIAs and brokers) and TPAs committed to improving customer-service or reducing the costs of their clients’ employee retirement plans. Employee Fiduciary gives TPAs and advisors the ability to improve their clients’ plans by providing 100% open architecture, without additional or hidden fees, and by offering the lowest cost daily recordkeeping in the industry.

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What Investments Do You Offer?

 

We offer any fund from any fund family available to 401(k) plans. This includes 401(k) index funds and 401(k) exchange traded funds [401(k) ETFs] . Click here for a list of funds.

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Can I Get Vanguard?

 

There are three ways to add Vanguard to your company’s plan. #1. Call Vanguard directly. Vanguard offers 401(k) plans directly to plans with $10 million or more in plan assets. If you have less than $10 million in aggregate assets in your 401(k), Vanguard will not service you directly. (Note: Vanguard may require that 100% or a certain proportion of plan assets are invested in Vanguard Family Funds). #2. Call a third-party administrator (TPA) offering Vanguard shares and pay a “wrap.” Since Vanguard does not pay revenue-sharing, 401(k) providers offering Vanguard funds often charge a “wrap” or asset-based fee, which may offset much of the benefit of low-cost investing, especially as account balances grow. #3 Call Employee Fiduciary. We offer all of Vanguard’s funds and do not charge any wraps or asset-based fees.

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Can I Get ETFs?

 

Yes, we offer all the major exchange-traded funds on the market. We provide 401(k) exchange traded funds without any asset-based wrap charges.

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How Secure Is Our Money?

 

We do not hold your plan’s money. Salary deferrals are invested in the mutual funds or other investments that you, as the employer, agree to offer. By law, these deferrals are held in trust by a third-party custodian. The custodian also holds the proceeds of any mutual fund sales prior to disbursement to participants. We use MG Trust® Company, LLC, A wholly owned subsidiary of Matrix Financial Solutions, MG Trust provides custodial, trust and/or cash agent services for approximately 75,000 plan and individual accounts and more than $29 billion in assets. MG Trust is regulated and chartered through the State of Colorado Division of Banking and is also a trust member of the National Securities Clearing Corporation.

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I Know You Offer 401(k) Plans. Do You Offer Other Qualified Retirement Plans As Well?

 

Employee Fiduciary is committed to offering the lowest-cost, full-service employee benefit plans in the industry. This includes defined contribution plans, such as low cost 401(k) plans, solo-(k)s, safe harbor, and SIMPLE plans, which give employees and employers the flexibility to contribute varying amounts to the plan tax-free, low cost 403(b) plans, which are typically used by non-profit groups, profit sharing plans, which give employers have the option of contributing varying amounts to the plan based on company performance, and money purchase plans, where employers commit to contribute a predetermined amount to their plan. If you don’t know what plan is right for you, contact Employee Fiduciary to learn more.

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