The white paper discusses basic fiduciary duties and legal responsibilities such as providing benefits to participants and beneficiaries, and elaborates on important growing concerns relevant to providing suitable retirement benefits, and monitoring true plan success. Reish also explains how employer plan design decisions, and specifically the Ameriprise BluePrint Design model, can help accomplish the employer´s objectives and also assist fiduciaries in better fulfilling their responsibilities.
"As 401(k) plans become the primary provider of retirement benefits and as ERISA further develops through court decisions and Department of Labor guidance, the focus of fiduciary responsibility will shift to whether an appropriate level of benefit is being provided by the plans," said Ward Armstrong, president of Ameriprise Retirement Services. "Ameriprise Retirement Services is focused on helping our clients answer that question with certainty and our BluePrint Design model provides a template for success."
From the white paper, Reish elaborates on the importance of developing a formalized process to evaluate plan success:
"Of key importance to a fiduciary is to have a prudent process for evaluating that information (and making decisions about the operations of the plan is important) the need for coordination between the fiduciaries and the employer to develop and operate a successful plan; and the importance of having a plan or process for that purpose."
In the paper´s closing analysis, Reish concludes that the BluePrint Design three-stage approach of establishing a foundation, creating a framework, and building and refining the plan aides fiduciaries in accomplishing the required duties under ERISA. Essentially, the Ameriprise BluePrint Design model supports fiduciaries in their jobs of operating and monitoring a successful retirement plan.
To view the white paper in its entirety, visit www.ameriprise.com/sponsors to download it or call 1-800-437-0600 to request a free copy by mail. Reish recently presented on this topic at the Ameriprise Retirement Services 2005 President´s Council, which can be heard online and via podcast from www.ameriprise.com/sponsors-podcasts.
About Ameriprise Retirement Services
Ameriprise Retirement Services, a service group of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., provides corporations, unions and municipalities, and more than 800,000 workers nationwide with a complete package of financial education, recordkeeping, investments and trustee services for their qualified retirement plans, as well as workplace financial education programs through Ameriprise Financial and Ameriprise Trust Company. For more information on Ameriprise Retirement Services, visit www.ameriprise.com/sponsors.
Ameriprise Financial is one of the nation´s leading financial planning, asset management and insurance companies. Through its nationwide network of more than 10,500 financial advisors, Ameriprise Financial delivers solutions to clients through a personalized financial planning approach built on a long term relationship with a knowledgeable advisor. The company specializes in meeting the retirement-related financial needs of the mass affluent. For more information, visit www.ameriprise.com.
The opinions expressed within the white paper referenced above are those of the authors and not of Ameriprise Retirement Services. The information and opinions in the report are provided by a third party and have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by Ameriprise Financial. It is given for informational purposes only and is not a solicitation to buy or sell the securities mentioned. The information is not intended to be used as the sole basis for investment decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the particular needs of an individual investor.
Ameriprise Retirement Services is a service group of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. and Ameriprise Trust Company. Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., Member NASD, offers registered investments and financial planning services. Ameriprise Trust Company offers retirement plan related services and provides collective funds.
© 2005 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved.