Best Book to Purchase

Hoping someone could assist. I help oversee a 401(k) Split Plan. There is several complexities to the Plan which is why is makes me harder to administer.  Trying to determine which book is best to purchase. The options I believe I have is the ERISA Outline Book  or the 401(k) Answer Book by Empower. Both are super expensive so weighing options. 
thank you for your thoughts. 

Both are good.

I would go with the EOB first.  8 volumes of information.

The 401k answer book is good.  It just has less information as it is a single volume.  (or at least the last one we have is....)

The last thought is I probably wouldn't spend the money on either as of today.... too much info to add from Secure and Secure 2.0.  And your purchase would be out of date.

I would spend the money on a subscription to Erisapedia as it is web based and more up to date.

8 minutes ago, Mr Bagwell said:

I would spend the money on a subscription to Erisapedia as it is web based and more up to date.

EOB is (or can be) web based as well. We use both.

A practitioner wants both publications. Each has some topics not as thoroughly covered in the other. And comparing these books’ explanations on a point helps one check for accuracy and thoroughness.

401(k) Answer Book is an Internet publication, no longer restrained by print update cycles.

https://law-store.wolterskluwer.com/s/product/401k-answer-book-pension3-mo-subvitallaw-3r/01t0f00000J4aDaAAJ

The book includes many of the authors’ forms of notices, and checklists.

The ERISA Outline Book by ASPPA provides the most comprehensive details.  The hard copy series is generally on sale at the end of the year, and it's still a good reference tool after a number of years, even though a new version is published annually.  I recommend also staying current with IRS releases such as Revenue Rulings and the Federal Register on the IRS website.  The Pension Answer Books are good too, but it's more college 101 for what we do compared to advanced with EOB.

The ERISA Outline Book is probably the most comprehensive and trustworthy series, so it is an indispensable resource for an ERISA practitioner. However, if you manage a single plan and it is only part of your job as an employee at a company that sponsors that plan, then perhaps you want a shorter and more digestible resource that you can use to more easily tackle common problems, leaving the complex ERISA research to your ERISA counsel. In that case, the 401(k) Answer Book may be a better fit. 

I would go with the ERISA Outline book, hands down.  The 401(k) answer book, while OK in my opinion is entirely too costly; for around the same price is the EOB online with much more succinct questions, answers, as well as cites, if you want more.

Not everyone will agree, but these are my $.03

41 minutes ago, thepensionmaven said:

these are my $.03

Inflation is affecting all of us.

The EOB has easily been the most valuable resource over the course of my career thus far.  I use it on a daily basis.  I have found the electronic version of the EOB a little clunky and difficult to navigate, but once you get where you're going, the content is excellent.

As an aside, am I the only one wondering what a "401(k) Split Plan" is?

36 minutes ago, BTG said:

am I the only one wondering what a "401(k) Split Plan" is?

Nope, and Google doesn't have a definitive answer either.

My "7-10 Split Plan" is just to roll it hard and hope for a bounce across the lane.

Thank you all for your responses. Sounds like the EOB is best! 

Like many of you, I had no idea what a split 401(k)  was and google was no help! I have learned so much in the past few months. We have two Plans for our employees and there is an identifier of which Plan they are under.

On 7/12/2023 at 10:01 AM, Bill Presson said:

EOB is (or can be) web based as well. We use both.

So do we.  I also think that Derrin's "whos the employer" is a must have.

I agree the EOB is probably the most comprehensive resource around - but I would caution the "casual" user - it presumes you know what you are looking for and are searching for the right thing.  In my experience, most of the time, people are asking the wrong questions.  We have the EOB as a resource, but we've recently added ERISAPedia's service as well.  ERISAPedia allows one to browse a bit more, see things in context, and refine the search.  Context is often very important, and it's hard to get that from EOB....

2 hours ago, MoJo said:

I agree the EOB is probably the most comprehensive resource around - but I would caution the "casual" user - it presumes you know what you are looking for and are searching for the right thing.  In my experience, most of the time, people are asking the wrong questions.  We have the EOB as a resource, but we've recently added ERISAPedia's service as well.  ERISAPedia allows one to browse a bit more, see things in context, and refine the search.  Context is often very important, and it's hard to get that from EOB....

I agree.  There is a learning curve to the EOB that you don't have ERISAPedia.  Casual or less experienced users will get more out of ERISAPedia, experienced users can get more detail out of the EOB, like old caselaw or rev procs that is used more sparingly in ERISAPedia.