Who is a fiduciary to a 401(k), 403(b), or pension plan, the standard they're held to, and what personal liability really means.
Anyone with discretionary authority over a 401(k) plan's management, administration, or assets is a fiduciary — the employer sponsoring the plan, the named plan administrator, investment committee members, and advisers with investment discretion. Function, not title, determines fiduciary status.
Read the full answerERISA holds retirement plan fiduciaries to the care, skill, prudence, and diligence of a prudent person familiar with such matters — effectively an expert standard. Fiduciaries who lack expertise are expected to hire it, and prudence is judged by the process, not the outcome.
Read the full answerYes — ERISA makes breaching fiduciaries personally liable to restore plan losses and disgorge profits, with possible civil penalties on top. The wave of 401(k) fee litigation is built on this exposure, and it reaches individual committee members, not just the company.
Read the full answerAppointing an ERISA 3(38) investment manager transfers discretionary authority over investment selection and monitoring to the manager, who accepts fiduciary status in writing. The committee sheds responsibility for individual investment decisions but keeps the duty to prudently select and monitor the manager.
Read the full answerSettlor decisions are business choices about the plan itself — whether to offer one, benefit levels, matching formulas, amendments, termination — and aren't governed by ERISA's fiduciary duties. Implementing those choices and running the plan are fiduciary functions held to ERISA's standards.
Read the full answerPut these answers to work
Fiduciary In A Box walks your team through every one of these requirements step by step — documenting decisions, organizing files, and keeping your plan compliant year-round.
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