PUBLISHED ON: FEBRUARY 2, 2017…  BenefitGuard, an Orem-based retirement management company, announced its next step toward helping Americans save more, through Financial Connection, an online guide to financial wellness.

http://www.heraldextra.com/business/local/tech-leaders-unite-for-workforce-initiatives-benefitguard-releases-financial-wellness/article_df8b9ec6-4067-5a25-bd2a-4ace6e35fbbe.html

PUBLISHED ON: JANUARY 26, 2017…  As the rate of 401(k) lawsuits continues to escalate, companies will be looking for ways to mitigate their fiduciary risk through fiduciary outsourcing.  A few of these models already exist through national providers like Mercer in large plan space and BenefitGuard in the SMB market.

The pending Senate Finance Committee’s proposal for the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act of 2016 also aims to approve and promote similar models such as pooled employer plans (PEPS), which will give further support and traction to the growth of full-fiduciary and bulk buying models.

http://www.benefitspro.com/2017/01/26/the-future-of-401k-plans

PUBLISHED ON: DECEMBER 16, 2016…  Utah County is built on the hard work of a multitude of small business owners. But in today’s Silicon Slopes startup business sector, often retirement plans aren’t offered — simply because a company is working lean, is still trying to validate its concept, or even just trying to grow to the point it can offer the standard job-related benefits people expect. When a company is more established and can offer these benefits, many of them find the fees and costs quite significant.
 
BenefitGuard, itself a small startup based out of Utah Valley University’s Small Business Resource Center in Orem, was conceived to help small business owners and their employees save for retirement as cost-effectively as possible.

http://www.heraldextra.com/business/local/orem-s-benefitguard-sets-out-to-fix-broken-k-model/article_d54ecc21-45d2-5ea8-bca5-d7e35c2df4d5.html

PUBLISHED ON: NOVEMBER 17, 2016…  BenefitGuard announced partnerships with Utah healthcare benefit providers, Spectra Benefits and Miller & Wade Group, with the intent to simplify small business access for the two most popular employee benefits, health insurance and retirement savings.

“Small businesses are turning to one-stop shops more than ever for employee benefit programs,” states Matt Bradley, CEO of BenefitGuard. “Our streamlined 401(k) model is a natural fit for health benefit providers to effectively serve their customers. Our early efforts with these great partners are validating this direction.”

This one-stop shop initiative allows health benefits companies to better compete with discount services selling insurance and human resource outsourcing. These partnerships are even more beneficial to employers and employees because BenefitGuard’s 401(k) solution integrates with popular online health savings account (HSA) platforms.

http://planadviser.com/BenefitGuard-Partners-To-Link-Health-Insurance-and-Retirement-Savings/

PUBLISHED ON: AUGUST 6, 2016 … Although you probably won’t even notice the difference in your paychecks, in a while you will be contributing more than you’ve ever thought possible. Furthermore, your 401(k) plan may be making these adjustments for you automatically, already. Actually, BenefitGuard reported that 50 percent of saving-rate increases of Millennials 401(k) plans were attributed to this type of “auto-adjustment.”…

http://www.inc.com/molly-reynolds/3-expert-tips-for-maximizing-your-401k-plan.html

PUBLISHED ON: AUGUST 3, 2016…  A successful entrepreneur knows every single one of their business’s financial liabilities. They know what they can and can’t be sued for — and it’s this knowledge that allows them to stay out of legal hot water. While it’s wonderful to think that everything will be great all of the time, at some point, your business is going to run into difficulties. It’s at this point that it’s absolutely imperative that you know what you could be liable for at any given time.

Spencer Barclay, COO of BenefitGuard, gives an example: “An often overlooked liability of a small business is the company retirement plan. You will find numerous recent lawsuits where a company is being sued by employees for simple mismanagement of the 401(k). In many cases, the company thinks their provider is the one on the hook for this, when in reality, very few providers across the country are actually taking on any fiduciary risk.”

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/279699

PUBLISHED ON: JULY 29, 2016… When the plan sponsor is burdened with the total of the fiduciary risk, the above factors are becoming even more of a problem. In as many as 95 percent of plans reported to BenefitGuard, the company plays both the fiduciary roles (administrative and investment-related) and carries virtually the total fiduciary risk. Plan sponsors typically act as the 3(38) Investment manager, the 3(21) Named Fiduciary and the 3(16) Plan Administrator.

Not only are they in charge of ensuring that the plan is administratively compliant, but it’s also their responsibility to select and monitor a fund portfolio of sensible investment options. So, if employees sue the company (which isn’t too rare), or if a government agency audit them (which is also not that rare), they are held responsible. Let’s be frank, the majority of companies with small to medium size lack the investment or administrative fiduciary expertise. So, assuming these roles along with their accompanying risk makes no sense.

http://www.business.com/finance/4-ways-the-401k-model-is-broken-and-what-to-do-about-it/

PUBLISHED ON: JULY 22, 2016…  In typical 401(k) plans, almost all of the above fiduciary roles are signed and acted by the plan sponsor or Employer, who also assumes the majority of the related legal risk. Once in a while, we come across plans that share or outsource some of the roles to an outside advisory firm, but that doesn’t happen too often.

BenefitGuard plans, on the other hand, differ significantly. BenefitGuard is the only low-cost service provider in America that provides the employer with the ability to construct a plan with minimal work and fiduciary risk. When setting a BenefitGuard plan, we use professional fiduciaries to act and sign as your 3(16) Plan Administrator, 3(21) Named Fiduciary, 3(38) Investment Manager, and 3(21) Financial Advisor.  This lets you invest your energy and resources to run your business, while we handle the work and risk of managing your 401(k) plan. Due to our wide customer base, we are in a position to make bulk purchases and nullify conflicts of interests, saving employers an average of 20 to 60 percent of the expenses of their 401(k) plans.

http://community.martindale.com/legal-blogs/Emerging_Issues/b/business_blog/archive/2016/07/22/401-k-fiduciary-roles.aspx

PUBLISHED ON: JULY 22, 2016… Look at a 401(k) plan. Most 401(k) providers will help you with fiduciary work but won’t take on any of the fiduciary risk for you. This is a growing concern for executives and HR Managers because of an increasing wave of employee lawsuits and scrutiny by the IRS and Department of Labor. BenefitGuard is truly different.

They believe that the service providers doing the fiduciary work on a 401(k) plan should be taking on the risks, not you.  And we’re not talking about being a co-fiduciary. Unlike any other provider in the industry, they appoint professional fiduciaries to sign and act in the administrative and investment fiduciary roles for you. They will sign and act as your 3(16) plan administrator, 3(21) named fiduciary, and 3(38) investment manager. They also hold a one million dollar bond on each and every plan.

http://money.ca/you_and_your_money/2016/07/22/being-an-investor-isnt-easy-here-are-some-tips-from-benefitguard/

PUBLISHED ON MARCH 10, 2016…  Reese Harper, CFP® interviews Matt Bradley, CEO of BenefitGuard who shares insights about retirement plan administration. (AUDIO RECORDING)

http://dentistadvisors.com/podcast/matt-bradley/