Conducting your annual plan review - DWS Investments

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KEYS TO AN EFFECTIVE RETIREMENT PLAN COMMITTEE■■Commitment by senior management to the quality of the retirement plan■■Knowledge of sufficient breadth to evaluate plan data and make informed decisions■■Process that fulfills fiduciary responsibilities by encompassing key areas of plan operations and management■■Consistency of execution to ensure the value of the process■■Authority granted to the committee to make decisions that affect the planWHAT ARE THE MAIN OBLIGATIONS OF YOUR RETIREMENT PLAN COMMITTEEWITH RESPECT TO SECTION 404(C) COMPLIANCE? 1To comply with Section 404(c), the Retirement Plan Committee must do all of the following:■■Provide participants with plan and investment information to comply with the new Participant Disclosure Regulation,404(a)(5), including specific information about fees associated with the plan’s investment options and plan services 2■■Notify participants that the plan intends to be compliant under Section 404(c)■■Allow participants to choose from a broad range of investment options, with no fewer than three diversifiedinvestment options that offer a variety of risk and return characteristics■■Provide information about any investment option that qualifies as a Qualified Default Investment Alternative(QDIA) and is an approved option to help the plan realize additional Safe Harbor protection under Section404(c). The three main QDIA investment options include: target retirement date funds, balanced funds andmanaged accounts■■Provide participants with independent control to move between investment options within their accounts.Participants must be able to give investment instructions with appropriate frequency; for the plan’s core funds,transfers must be permitted at least quarterly, at a minimum■■For each investment option, provide descriptions, risk and return characteristics, performance information, andfees and expenses in accordance with the Participant Disclosure Regulation■■Provide instructions to participants on how to obtain additional information■■Record participant information requests as well as a log of how they were fulfilled1Please note that to the following is a general summary of the requirements of Section 404(c), however additional specific requirements forrealizing full fiduciary protection may need to be satisfied. For more information about meeting these specific requirements for your plan,please contact your plan’s ERISA counsel.2The Department of Labor (DOL) has recently issued their final rules regarding the requirement of expanded information to be provided toparticipants in disclosing fees and expenses associated with the plan, the Participant Disclosure Regulation. The new regulation requires that asof August 30, 2012 (for calendar year plans), participants must be provided with additional, detailed information about the fees and expensesassociated with the plan and the plan’s investments. This includes new disclosures to help participants understand plan expenses and feesbeing paid for services rendered to the plan and information to compare investment alternatives on their own. Overall, the goal of the ParticipantDisclosure Regulation is to help participants make more informed decisions about the management of their plan account.4 » Conducting your annual plan review
Beginning the annual plan reviewAfter you have determined the frequency and focus of your regular Retirement Plan Committeemeetings, you can turn to starting the process for your annual plan review.Preparing for the annual plan review, which should occurat the end of your plan year, consists of three steps:Step 1 | Gathering and sharing information amongdecision-makersStep 2 | Conducting the reviewStep 3 | Documenting your decisions, includingunresolved issuesDWS RETIREMENT SERVICES PLANIN REVIEWTo provide you with an annual report card for yourplan, DWS Retirement Services has developed thePlan in Review process that assists you with yourfiduciary due diligence. Your Relationship Manager,often with the help of your Financial Advisor, willinitiate this process by scheduling a meeting to reviewall aspects of your plan in depth, and present yourPlan in Review book, a comprehensive plan reviewwhich includes a detailed overview of plan statistics,investment performance and industry benchmarks.The Plan in Review process also gives you adocumented summary of:■■Goals completed for the current plan year■■Operational achievements■■Educational initiatives■■Section 404(c) compliance and fiduciary requirements■■Legislative updates and changes■■Nondiscrimination test results■■Goals for the upcoming plan yearYour Plan in Review book includes the followingdetailed reports:■■Plan statistics■■Plan investments■■Financial market updates■■Plan sponsor servicesWHAT TO EXPECTYour Relationship Manager, in conjunction withyour Financial Advisor, will work with you todetermine the timing of your annual review and topicsfor discussion. The built-in flexibility of the Plan inReview process also offers your Relationship Managerthe ability to customize the process to accommodatespecific requests.You can expect your Plan in Review book to help serveas the backbone of your annual plan review. It will giveyou data on essential issues that will help you assessthe plan and all of its investment options. This will alsohelp you to evaluate the merits of your current plandesign as well as the overall effectiveness of the planfor your employees.The Plan in Review process is designed to provideyou with all the information you need to effectivelyreview and evaluate your plan. More detailedinformation about the Plan in Review is available fromyour DWS Retirement Services Relationship Manager.Conducting your annual plan review » 5
Page 2 and 3: INFORMATION.EVALUATION. OVERSIGHT.C
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Page 12 and 13: InvestmentsBecause suitable investm
Page 14 and 15: SERVICE PROVIDERS AND FEESSelecting
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Page 22 and 23: Putting all togetherThe conclusion
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