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the moving parts and personnel of plan documents and could consider including these
management. Meeting agendas and six summaries for the benefit of onboarding
minutes also provide a quick reference new personnel.
of recent committee discussions,
initiatives and actions to improve the As plan fiduciaries, our ultimate goal is
plan for the benefit of participants to make decisions that benefit our plan
and beneficiaries. In addition, agendas participants. Creating a central location for
reference prior committee fiduciary plan information and educational resources
education topics and may uncover new helps to strengthen the role that committee
education topics for future meetings. members and key decision-makers play as
plan fiduciaries, and this ultimately creates a
3. Easy and concise location for plan stronger plan for our participants.
audit — All plan sponsors face the
prospect of audits. In some cases,
these audits are performed by the plan Feasibility for use with public
sponsor, while in other cases these entities our size
audits may be initiated by an outside
third party, such as the Internal Revenue We believe this type of aggregation of plan
Service (IRS) or Department of Labor documents and resources is feasible for public
(DOL). Warehousing information in entities of similar size. The County took the
a “library” provides quick electronic following four steps, which could be adapted
access to any auditor reviewing plan to meet the needs of other public entities:
documents, policies and procedures to 1. Website Set-up: Appropriate
assure compliance with federal, state documentation and educational content
and local laws. should be catalogued and stored on
The content of the Fiduciary Briefcase is a website (or shared electronic file
electronic. Content can be easily and quickly source) for easy access. In the County’s
modified. Recordkeeper plan reviews, case, the plan consultant, NFP, helped
annual investment reviews and recordkeeper with the set-up of the Fiduciary
performance reviews (covering services) Briefcase website. Other entities could
are also included in the San Mateo County look to their consultant for assistance
briefcase. Provider contracts, administrative or take on the role of establishing their
agreements and transactional forms (i.e. own website to use as a repository.
enrollment, loans, QDRO and Catch-up 2. Education: The County created a
applications, beneficiary statements, etc.) may process for educating the Committee
be included. and recommending contents of the
Fiduciary Briefcase and its utilization.
Because of the County’s proactive pursuit This included both a PowerPoint
of educational seminars, the committee may presentation and website screenshots.
include these important education materials
as well. For instance, the consultant provides
an annual “457 University” which is a six-hour
training program covering significant
historical milestones in changes to 457(b)
administration, how employers across the
country have implemented these legislative
and regulatory changes, and current and
future best practices for the committee’s
consideration. In addition, the committee has
reviewed each of NAGDCA’s best practices
