Charge for "extra" recordkeeping services

[Guest FREE401k]

We are curious how other recordkeeping firms handle "extra" requests from clients. We have a large client who frequently asks for extra small things such as mailing another statement to a participant who never rec'd theirs, sending an extra quarterly ledger to someone else in their HR department, etc. etc. These sound very small and nit-picky as I type this message, but they are never-ending. And some of their requests are much larger, like asking if their 401K clerk can leave our phone number on her voice mail when she goes on vacation! We are on a fee schedule with this client but nothing in the schedule contemplates the little weird extras they are always asking for. We hate to appear penny-pinching but need to address this situation and thought we could benefit from the experience of others in this same situation.

[rcline46]

Easiest thing - raise that client's fees to cover the extra so you don't have to nickle and dime them.

[Mike Preston]

Should be very easy to do, especially if you start from a position that mimics your name. Or maybe that makes it extremely difficult to do? (g, d & r)

[Guest FREE401k]

Thanks for the thoughts...we've gone to this client about raising our fee and they pitched a fit, of course. We're just gonna have to decide if this is an issue worth fighting about, and if it is either charge them for these extras or quit doing them.

I chuckled at the comment about my screen name, free401K. I need to amend it as everybody, of course, thinks it is advocating no-cost 401Ks. It actually comes from a Worth Magazine article a few years back called "A Disaster In The Making" and the article's slogan, "Free The 401(k)". The article mentioned our firm extensively and our research into yield disparity, which is the difference in investment returns between the higher paid workers and the lower paid workers that we think will someday lead to lawsuits.