Prevail conducts a structured plan audit covering five areas: (1) fees — we benchmark total plan costs (recordkeeping, investment, advisory) against comparable plans; (2) investment options — we review the fund lineup for performance, cost, and suitability; (3) fiduciary processes — we assess whether your committee has documented policies, investment policy statements, and meeting minutes that would hold up to a DOL audit; (4) participation and deferral rates — we identify gaps in employee engagement that are costing participants in retirement readiness; and (5) compliance posture — confirming required testing, filings, and plan document updates are current. Most clients receive a written findings report within two to three weeks of the initial review.

The four most frequent issues are: (1) excessive fees — many plans pay significantly more than market rate for recordkeeping, often due to revenue-sharing arrangements embedded in fund expenses; (2) poor investment lineup construction — too many overlapping funds, outdated options, or high-cost share classes when institutional alternatives exist; (3) weak fiduciary documentation — no written Investment Policy Statement, irregular committee meetings, or meeting minutes that don’t reflect the analysis actually performed; and (4) low participation — often caused by poor plan design (no auto-enrollment, no auto-escalation) or lack of employee education.

Prevail’s engagement doesn’t end at implementation. We provide structured ongoing oversight that includes: quarterly investment monitoring with written reports, an annual plan review meeting with your plan committee, annual fee benchmarking documentation, participant education sessions each year (group and/or individual), and year-round availability for plan sponsor questions and compliance issues. Plan sponsors who work with us treat us as an extension of their HR and finance teams — not as a vendor they only hear from at renewal time.

Being a plan fiduciary is a legal responsibility under ERISA — and personal liability attaches to plan trustees and committee members, not just the organization. Prevail helps you meet those obligations by: maintaining an up-to-date Investment Policy Statement that defines how funds are selected and monitored, facilitating and documenting committee meetings so your process is on record, conducting annual fee benchmarking to demonstrate prudent cost oversight, monitoring the investment lineup and documenting any changes made and why, and — if you choose a 3(38) arrangement — taking on discretionary investment authority so that investment liability transfers from your organization to Prevail.

Plan design has an outsized impact on whether your employees actually retire with enough money. Key design decisions include: auto-enrollment (which dramatically increases participation rates among new hires), auto-escalation (which automatically increases deferral rates over time), employer match structure (which directly affects whether employees feel incentivized to participate), the investment menu (which determines whether employees are properly allocated for their age and goals), and whether to offer Roth as well as traditional contribution options. Prevail evaluates all of these levers and recommends a design based on your workforce demographics and business goals.

Low participation is one of the most common — and most fixable — problems in employer-sponsored plans. Prevail’s approach to engagement includes: annual group enrollment and re-enrollment meetings where we walk employees through their options in plain language; individual one-on-one consultations for employees who want personalized guidance; webinars for remote employees or multi-site organizations; written and digital education materials customized to your workforce; and active re-enrollment campaigns that prompt existing participants to revisit their contribution rates and allocations. We track participation and deferral rates year over year and report on them at every annual review.

Prevail follows a documented investment selection process defined in your plan’s Investment Policy Statement. We evaluate funds across three dimensions: cost (we favor low-expense institutional share classes over retail equivalents), performance (funds are measured against their benchmark and peer group over 1-, 3-, and 5-year periods), and suitability (the lineup should provide meaningful diversification across asset classes without unnecessary overlap). We review the full lineup at least annually and flag any fund that fails to meet its criteria for two consecutive quarters. All additions and removals are documented with the rationale recorded in committee minutes.

We start by identifying all layers of cost embedded in your plan — recordkeeping fees, investment expense ratios, advisory fees, and any revenue-sharing arrangements that may be inflating costs without your knowledge. We then benchmark those costs against comparable plans using industry data. In cases where costs are above market, we work with your recordkeeper to renegotiate fees, identify lower-cost share classes for existing funds, or evaluate whether a different recordkeeping platform would serve your plan better. Fee reductions benefit both the plan sponsor (reduced liability exposure) and participants (more of their money stays invested and compounding).

At minimum, a formal review should occur annually. That review should cover investment performance, fees, participation rates, compliance status, and whether the plan design still fits the business. Beyond the annual review, the investment lineup should be monitored quarterly against defined criteria, and any material business change — a significant headcount increase or reduction, an acquisition, a change in ownership structure, or a shift in workforce demographics — should trigger an interim plan review. Prevail builds this structured review cadence into every client engagement.

Business changes are among the most common triggers for plan compliance issues. A company that acquires another entity may inherit a second plan that needs to be merged or terminated. Rapid headcount growth may change nondiscrimination test results. An ownership change may affect eligibility rules or controlled group status. Prevail monitors for these events as part of ongoing engagement and coordinates with your ERISA attorney, CPA, and recordkeeper to ensure the plan remains compliant and aligned as the business evolves.

ERISA compliance failures range from minor procedural issues to more significant problems that require formal correction through IRS or DOL programs. If Prevail identifies a compliance gap during our review, we work alongside your recordkeeper, ERISA counsel, and third-party administrator to determine the appropriate correction method — whether that’s a self-correction under the IRS EPCRS program, a voluntary correction filing, or a DOL Voluntary Correction Program submission. Early identification and proactive correction significantly reduces both the financial cost and the risk of penalties compared to issues surfaced during a government audit.

Prevail acts as the central oversight partner across all plan providers. We manage the relationship with your recordkeeper to ensure they are meeting service standards and that the plan data we receive is accurate. We work directly with your TPA on testing and compliance filings. We coordinate with your ERISA attorney on plan document updates and legal questions. And we ensure that all providers are aligned on plan design, investment changes, and participant communication. Plan sponsors should not have to manage these relationships individually — that coordination is part of what Prevail provides.

For business owners, the company retirement plan is often one of the most powerful tax-advantaged savings vehicles available. Prevail helps owners maximize their own contributions within IRS limits while ensuring the plan design passes nondiscrimination testing — including evaluating whether a Safe Harbor design removes testing constraints entirely. We also help owners think about the plan in the context of their broader financial picture: business succession, estate planning, and the transition from accumulation to decumulation as retirement approaches.

Plan sponsors receive quarterly investment monitoring reports showing fund performance against benchmarks, any funds on a watch list, and commentary on market context. At the annual review, we provide a comprehensive plan health report covering fees vs. benchmarks, participation and deferral rate trends, investment lineup status, and a fiduciary file summary showing all documented decisions made during the year. This documentation is specifically designed to support your defense in the event of a participant complaint or regulatory inquiry.

We recommend exploring a recordkeeper change when: fees have increased and renegotiation has not produced competitive pricing; the platform’s technology and participant experience are consistently below the standard participants expect; service responsiveness from the recordkeeper is poor; or the investment platform no longer offers the breadth or share classes needed for a competitive fund lineup. We also evaluate whether plan design changes — like adding auto-enrollment, Roth options, or an in-plan annuity feature — require a platform that the current recordkeeper cannot support. Transitions are managed by Prevail from blackout planning through fund mapping to participant communication.