Financial Planning as Employee Benefit

[Guest Smokin]

An employer wants to offer financial planning for its employees. The financial planner would provide advice to plan participants on their qualifed plan investment choices in connection with investment direciton and would also provide information on insurance and presumably would make insurance product sales. The employer would like to compensate the planner in part from qualifed plan assets.

I see any number of problems with this idea including potential liability for the employer for bad advice given by the planner and the use of plan assets to compensate the planner.

Has anyone see this type of arrangement used successfully.

[Guest Sieve]

Your concerns are valid. But, if done right, the individual providing the investment guidance will not be a fiduciary, but just a plan service provider and could be paid from plan assets. The Administrator will retain, at a minimum, its oversight liability. See DOL Reg. Section 2509.96-1.