Welcome to the Section on our Partners
Retirement plans can be done in-house, but so can your taxes! Organizations rely on a myriad of service providers when offering retirement plans to employees. The custodian holding the investments must be a Trust Bank. With all the money in one account, for better pricing, a record keeper is used to track accounts and provide daily access to your holdings. A software provider, or in-house IT group, manages this online portal. A plan document is required, along with annual reporting. This is managed by a Third Party Administrator or TPA. A Fiduciary is usually in place to advise on or manage investments and employee education. Finally, the organization itself has a person or committee responsible for the plan. If you are able, it helps to have a consultant to help guide you through the process of implementing a plan. Social(k) Partners are retirement plan specialists providing a range of services to organizations looking to incorporate Environmental Social or Governance screens into the company plan. Each partner is committed to our goal of a streamlined offering, fully incorporating ESG options with low costs. After trying a custom software approach to ERISA plan recordkeeping we firmly believe using the industry giant SunGard Relius is an advantage over companies devoting larger portions of capital budgets to continued improvements on their own.
We also offer fiduciary services and deep reporting on the impact of your investments with QBOX and HIP Impact Ratings. These services are optional and depending on your needs may be of interest to your plan managers and participants.
We utilize our partners to build a plan that fits your needs as a Plan Sponsor. Each Partner offers pricing discounts and/or service upgrades for Social(k) clients. Social(k) brings a new level of engagement by employees when it comes to company retirement plan benefits by matching investments with corporate and employee beliefs. Our products are tailored to each organization's corporate identity (mission, employee base, goals), reinstating your retirement plan as a benefit rather than a potential liability to your company. We also have worked hard to bring a low-priced and full-service option to under-10-person start-up plans, our Easy Plan with July Services.
Further questions? Contact us for a custom plan design or proposal from Social(k) and our partners.
July Services - JULY specializes in helping owner-only businesses maximize retirement savings. They work with you and your advisor or CPA to design a plan that provides much greater flexibility and savings potential than is available through a SEP or SIMPLE plan. JULY is 500 professionals dedicated to the idea that it’s important to help people create financial security in retirement. Offering both fixed pricing and asset-based pricing to make sure you have a plan at the right price.
Retirement Plan Consultants - Dimensional Fund provider with Advisor Advantage to support the plan advisor, and HR Solutions which help smaller organizations provide human resource services.
RPG Consultants - Offers full-service retirement planning with an emphasis on defined benefit, defined contribution and 401(k) programs, complex pension strategies (including select comparability designs), non-qualified deferred compensation programs, FSA Plans, and plans covered by the Davis-Bacon Act. With Folio Institutional as custodian, Social(k) offers Separate Account Manager portfolios and a high level of service and customization, inclusive of separate performance reporting on a per-account basis.
Fiduciary Solutions - We offer multiple options for 3(21), and 3(38) fiduciary services. ERISA-compliant screening and monitoring of investment options with clear roles and responsibilities process. Utilizing an investment fiduciary allows advisors and business owners to simplify and streamline their investments and oversight. They consult with business owners and advisors to establish an investment lineup that best help participants meet their investment objectives. Socially Responsible Investments (SRI or ESG) are offered as options in all Social(k) 401(k) plans as long as certain requirements are met. As the Department of Labor does not permit one to make investment decisions based solely on social or SRI or ESG issues, the fiduciary's solutions are a documented process and training program so that fiduciary obligations are met.
We also offer 3(16) administrative fiduciary solutions. In this case, the fiduciary manages the plan in its entirety, including signing the 5500, answering audits, and paying any fines due. For under $2000 a year, you can free HR of all duties, and responsibilities, related to the 401(k) plan. More here: https://socialk.com/learn/bgr/
Directory of Financial advisors who are members of the US Social Investment Forum, here
LeafHouse Fiduciary Services - A discretionary investment manager with expertise in the retirement industry. LeafHouse developed proprietary technology that aims to prudently select, evaluate, and monitor investments that are solely in the best interests of plan participants and their beneficiaries. With LeafHouse acting as 3(38) Investment Fiduciary we offer a pure ESG screened fund lineup. They have added six iShare Indexes if you believe offering non-ESG screened options makes sense for your participants.
Social(k) and our new partners proudly introduce an entirely new standard of service and support to organizations looking to concentrate on their core mission. The company retirement plan can and should be a valuable benefit for employees and not a liability for employers.
Common issues to check on with your current plan.
- Plan is outdated
- Roth feature not implemented
- No Default Investment Selection
- Lack of established Investment Committee
- Investment Policy Statement not created
- No formal Employee Education Program
- 404(c) election not used or followed
- Fidelity Bond's lack of coverage
- Efficient plan design not utilized
- No Fiduciary Services are being provided
- Consistently failed discrimination testing
- No formal fund review
- Lack of advisor involvement