Advisors 401(k) helps you meet your 401k plan's 404c requirements on several fronts.

With Advisors 401(k), meeting ERISA 404c requirements regarding investment diversity and availability of pertinent information is easy:

The Advisors 401(k) software permanently logs all employees' requests for information regarding 401k enrollment, investing, loans, hardship withdrawals and more.

Your plan can offer an exceedingly wide array of class A, B and C mutual fund investments.

Your 401k plan participants can change their investment choices and/or contribution levels as often as you choose to allow.

Participants' accounts receive daily asset valuation and MONTHLY statements regarding their 401k accounts.

Participants have 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week access to their personal account information and easy access to prospectuses for all mutual funds offered within your plan.

Advisors 401(k) comes with plan-specific disclosure materials for your employees.

Advisors 401(k) comes with general 401k and investment education materials in both printed and video format for your employees.

Advisors 401(k) automatically prepares and updates account statements for each participant every month (and prepares mailing labels that make distributing statements quick and simple).

The Advisors 401(k) User's Guide tells you what information to distribute when and to whom.

404c protection for 401k plans that use personal brokerage accounts

Because participant-directed brokerage accounts do not fall under the definition of "designated investments" for 401k plans, companies have no specific sets of information, such as investment prospectuses and performance information, that they must provide to plan participants regarding participant-directed brokerage account investments. What does need to be provided is:

A statement that the plan intends to be a 404c plan and that the fiduciaries will be relieved of liability.

The identity of a 404c fiduciary.

A description of available investment alternatives, with specific information about designated alternatives (i.e., specific mutual funds being offered within the plan in addition to the self-directed brokerage accounts).

General disclosure regarding investment through a self-directed brokerage account.

With the exception of disclosure regarding investment through self-directed brokerage accounts, the above must also be supplied for plans using "designated" investments, such as mutual funds.

With Advisors 401(k), you're covered: your plan's customized Summary Plan Description, Plan Enrollment Form and related documents provide the above 404c-related information to your employees -- and all Advisors 401(k) documents are easy for laypeople to read and understand!

For more information about designated and nondesignated investments and their 404c compliance ramifications, please read Panel Publishers 401(k) Advisor article, "Personal Brokerage Accounts: Is 404c Protection Available?" September, 1999.

Professional Help In Educating Plan Participants

Beyond the enrollment materials, video, and online resources included with 401(k) Easy, additional professional help in educating plan participants is available from various consultancies. 

Education Consultants render unbiased, factual information and guidance in all aspects of 401(k) participation. Plan participants appreciate the "self-serve" functions of 401(k) Easy, and will also benefit from a customized enrollment meeting conducted on-site by a knowledgeable 401(k) Education Specialist. The Education Specialist explains the mechanics of 401(k) participation and the advantages of enrolling. 
Key components include: 

how plans work, 
their inherent tax advantages, 
proven, time-tested unbiased information
and techniques for participants to use in selecting 401(k) investments that fit their needs and objectives.

Group presentations usually run about one hour and include time for questions and answers. These presentations are performed throughout the day to accommodate varying employee schedules. 401(k) Education Specialists are retained by the plan sponsor on a per diem basis, and fees are negotiated directly between the two parties. One such 401(k) Education Specialist that offers expert education and unbiased guidance through on-site enrollments is www.presentmy401k.com.

Is investment education required under the law? There is a common misperception that investment education is required under Section 404(c) to transfer investment responsibility and liability to the employees. There is no such requirement. In fact, footnote 1 to the Department of Labor Interpretive Bulletin states: 

The section 404(c) regulation conditions relief from fiduciary liability on, among other things, the participant or beneficiary being provided or having the opportunity to obtain sufficient investment information regarding the investment alternatives available under the plan [such as prospectuses] in order to make informed investment decisions. Compliance with this condition, however, does not require that participants and beneficiaries be offered or provided either investment advice or investment education, e.g., regarding general investment principles and strategies to assist them in making investment decisions. 29 CFR Sec 2550.404c-1(c)(4).