Description

A focused course, tailored for you

The ERISA Compliance Manager's Retirement Plan Oversight Playbook

Run a defensible ERISA program across 401(k), 403(b), and IRA recordkeeping without waiting for DOL or IRS to surface the gap first.

Your 408(b)(2) fee-disclosure tracker has three recordkeeper rows still flagged yellow, the rollover prohibited-transaction documentation is sitting in three different SharePoint folders, and the next DOL EBSA correspondence could land any week. The program is not broken. The evidence file is not assembled.

$199 one-time

Tailored to your situation. Access within 24 hours. 30-day money-back.

Includes a hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access, generated for your specific situation.

Why this course

ERISA compliance management at a large broker-dealer with custodial, recordkeeping, and advisory lines is an evidence problem disguised as a rules problem. You already know the rules. What erodes a program is the absence of a repeatable, defensible artefact for each obligation. Participant fee disclosure cycles slip when the recordkeeper-side data feed changes format mid-year. 404(c) participant direction protections quietly fail when fund menu changes are not properly noticed. Rollover oversight under PTE 2020-02 only holds up if the best-interest documentation was completed before the trade, not reconstructed after. Form 5500 Schedule C compensation disclosures and the related-party reporting only reconcile cleanly if the fiduciary status of every service provider was mapped at onboarding. The DOL EBSA investigator does not ask whether you understand the rule. They ask for the file. The course builds the file, one module per obligation, with the exact format DOL and plan auditors look for.

What you walk away with

A complete 408(b)(2) and 404(a)(5) disclosure evidence file across every recordkeeping arrangement, reconciled to the participant population.
Documented PTE 2020-02 best-interest process for rollover recommendations, with the pre-trade artefact captured at point of advice rather than reconstructed.
A defensible Form 5500 Schedule C and Schedule H workpaper file that ties the audit trail before the plan auditor opens fieldwork.
Mapped fiduciary status for every service provider touching the plan, with the documentation a DOL investigator asks for in writing.
A repeatable internal-review cadence that surfaces the issue before the participant complaint, DOL letter, or auditor finding does.

The 12 modules

Module 1. ERISA Obligation Map for a Broker-Dealer With Retirement Plan Exposure

Lay out the full obligation surface across plan-sponsor side, recordkeeping side, advisory side, and IRA custodial side. Map each obligation to the regulator who enforces it, the artefact that proves compliance, the cycle on which it refreshes, and the internal owner. The output is a one-page heat map of every place ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, FINRA, and SEC obligations overlap on your specific product mix, and where the responsibility ambiguity lives today.

Module 2. Participant Disclosure Cycles Under 404(a)(5) and 408(b)(2)

Build the participant-level fee disclosure evidence file. Walk through the annual 404(a)(5) participant fee disclosure timing, the quarterly statement requirements, change notices when fund menus shift, and the 408(b)(2) covered service provider disclosure file. Templates for the disclosure tracker, the change-notice log, and the participant complaint linkage so an internal review surfaces a missed notice before a participant or auditor does.

Module 3. Rollover Recommendations Under PTE 2020-02 and the Best-Interest Standard

Build the pre-trade evidence file for rollover recommendations. The DOL position on rollover advice as ERISA fiduciary activity is unambiguous, but the failure mode is documentation done after the trade. Module covers the best-interest analysis template, the comparative cost and feature evaluation between the existing plan and the proposed IRA, written acknowledgment of fiduciary status, and the supervisory review that catches a thin file before the trade settles.

Module 4. Fiduciary Status Mapping for Every Service Provider Touching the Plan

Map the fiduciary status of every service provider in the chain. 3(16) plan administrator, 3(21) co-fiduciary investment advisor, 3(38) discretionary investment manager, directed recordkeeper, custodian, advisor, broker-dealer rep. The DOL investigator opens with this map. Module delivers the mapping template, the contract language to confirm status, the conflict-of-interest disclosure file each tier requires, and the escalation path when a vendor disputes their designated status.

Module 5. Plan Document and Summary Plan Description Governance

Establish governance over plan documents and SPDs. Covers adoption of plan amendments on the required cycle, distribution timing for SPDs and SMMs, document retention obligations under ERISA Section 107, and the practical workflow for keeping the plan document, SPD, recordkeeping system, and participant-facing materials in sync when a sponsor adopts a mid-year amendment. Includes the version-control template and the participant-notice log.

Module 6. Form 5500 and Plan Audit Readiness Before the Auditor Opens Fieldwork

Assemble the Form 5500 workpaper file before the plan auditor opens fieldwork. Walk through Schedule C compensation disclosures, Schedule H financial statements, Schedule R retirement information, the audit confirmation process with custodians and recordkeepers, and the SOC 1 Type 2 reliance file from each service organisation. Templates for the audit binder, the workpaper index, and the reconciliation pack that closes the audit in days rather than weeks.

Module 7. Prohibited Transactions, Party-in-Interest Analysis, and Exemption Documentation

Run the prohibited transaction analysis as a workflow, not a one-off question. Module covers the party-in-interest identification process, the categories of transactions that require an exemption, the documentation each statutory and class exemption demands, and the practical case work for proprietary fund offerings, affiliated service providers, and securities lending arrangements common in a broker-dealer environment. Templates for the PT review log and the exemption file.

Module 8. Cybersecurity and Participant Data Under the DOL Best Practices

Build the cybersecurity evidence file the DOL EBSA Best Practices document expects. Covers the program-level cybersecurity assessment, the third-party recordkeeper assessment, participant account protection protocols, the breach response playbook, and the documentation a DOL investigator requests when participant accounts are compromised. Templates for the assessment workpaper, the recordkeeper questionnaire, and the participant communication library for incident response.

Module 9. Plan Investment Oversight, IPS, and Fund Menu Reviews

Operate the investment fiduciary side as a documented committee process. Covers the investment policy statement template, quarterly fund-menu review workpapers, the fund mapping and removal documentation, the participant-direction protections under 404(c), and the committee-minute format that demonstrates a prudent process. Includes the QDIA selection and re-enrolment documentation that protects sponsors from participant litigation over default investments.

Module 10. Communications, Notices, and Required Filings Across the Plan Year

Calendar every required participant notice, government filing, and disclosure across the plan year. Safe Harbor notices, QDIA notices, automatic enrolment notices, summary annual reports, blackout notices, Section 204(h) notices for benefit reductions, IRS user-fee filings, and PBGC reporting where applicable. Module delivers the year-at-a-glance calendar template and the tracker that links each notice to its evidence file, owner, and audit reference.

Module 11. Internal Review, Self-Correction, and the EPCRS and VFCP Programs

Run an internal review that finds the failure before DOL or IRS does. Module covers the internal-audit scope, the operational-failure identification workflow, self-correction under EPCRS for IRS issues, voluntary fiduciary correction under VFCP for DOL issues, the late-deposit DOL calculator, and the documentation each correction program requires. Templates for the self-audit workpaper and the correction filing pack.

Module 12. Responding to DOL EBSA, IRS Employee Plans, FINRA, and SEC Inquiries

Operate the regulatory response process. Covers the document-request response binder structure, the privilege analysis for internal communications, the witness preparation file for compliance personnel called for interview, the parallel-track response when DOL and FINRA inquire on overlapping conduct, and the closing-letter analysis that captures what to operationalise after the matter resolves. Templates for the response log, the privilege log, and the matter-closing memo.

How this addresses your situation

Specific modules that map to what you said you are dealing with.

DOL EBSA correspondence has just arrived: modules 12, 6, 1, and the relevant obligation module map the response.

Plan auditor is opening fieldwork next quarter: modules 6, 5, 4, and 9 build the binder before the kickoff.

Recordkeeping system migration or recordkeeper change is in flight: modules 2, 4, 5, and 8 control the disclosure, fiduciary status, and cyber evidence file across the transition.

Rollover supervisory exception was raised at the desk level: modules 3 and 11 build the pre-trade documentation standard and the self-correction file for any in-flight thin documentation.

What you get with this course

Twelve written modules in the Art of Service learning environment, with downloadable templates and worked examples for every obligation.
The hand-built implementation playbook tuned to your plan mix, recordkeeping arrangements, and broker-dealer overlay.
Template library: 408(b)(2) and 404(a)(5) disclosure trackers, PTE 2020-02 best-interest file, fiduciary status mapping pack, Form 5500 audit binder, prohibited transaction review log, DOL cybersecurity workpaper, IPS and fund review pack, year-of-notices calendar, EPCRS and VFCP correction templates, regulatory response binder structure.
30-day satisfaction guarantee. If the file is not what your DOL response file should look like, refund.

What you will have in hand by Day 1, Week 1, Month 1

Within 24 hours your account in the learning environment is provisioned and the tailored implementation playbook is delivered alongside it.

Weeks 1 to 2: complete the obligation map (module 1) and the disclosure evidence file (module 2). The first two modules produce immediately useful artefacts.

Weeks 3 to 6: work through rollover documentation, fiduciary status mapping, plan document governance, and Form 5500 readiness. Half the file is now defensible.

Weeks 7 to 12: complete prohibited transactions, cybersecurity, investment oversight, the notices calendar, internal review, and the regulatory response binder. The complete program is now documented end to end.

Before and after

Before

The 408(b)(2) tracker has yellow rows. Rollover documentation is reconstructed after the fact. Form 5500 audit fieldwork triggers a three-week scramble. The fiduciary status of three vendors is genuinely unclear. The next DOL letter would land on a program that has the rules right and the evidence file half-built.

After

Every ERISA obligation has a named owner, a defined evidence artefact, a refresh cycle, and a file location. The audit binder is assembled before the auditor opens fieldwork. Rollover documentation is captured pre-trade. The DOL response file exists before the letter arrives. The program demonstrates a prudent process on paper, in real time.

What happens if you do not address this

The DOL EBSA investigator does not give credit for understanding the rule. They write up the gap in the file. A documented late participant deposit, a missing 408(b)(2) disclosure update, a rollover with thin pre-trade documentation, a Schedule C that fails to reconcile to the recordkeeper feed: each one becomes a finding, a correction obligation, a participant restoration, and an examination report that the broker-dealer leadership team reads. The cost of running without the evidence file is paid once the letter arrives.

Who it is for

ERISA Compliance Manager responsible for retirement plan oversight at a national broker-dealer or retirement services firm, sitting between plan sponsor obligations, recordkeeping operations, and the advisor or rep network. Touches 401(k), 403(b), IRA rollovers, possibly 457 and Solo 401(k), reports into either Legal, Risk, or a Chief Compliance Officer for retirement services. Audited externally by an ERISA plan auditor, regulated by DOL EBSA and the IRS Employee Plans function, and exposed to FINRA on the broker-dealer side and SEC on any RIA overlay.

Who this is NOT for. Not for plan sponsor HR managers who outsource the entire compliance function to a third-party administrator. Not for retirement plan participants seeking advice. Not for ERISA litigators looking for case law. This is a working playbook for the compliance professional who owns the evidence file and answers to DOL.

How it arrives

Text-based course in the Art of Service learning environment, plus downloadable templates and worked examples for every module, plus the hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access.

Time investment. Plan for about 90 minutes per module. Twelve modules at roughly 18 hours of total study, plus the time to populate the templates against your actual plan portfolio. Most learners complete the course over six to ten weeks while running their regular workload.

Why $199 is the right number

ALI-CLE and ERISA-focused CLE programmes deliver excellent doctrine but do not hand you the evidence file. Plan sponsor council membership delivers peer benchmarking and advocacy. Outside ERISA counsel delivers an opinion when the question is hard. None of those hand you the assembled, populated, audit-ready workpaper file across the twelve obligations. This course does.

FAQ

Does this assume a specific recordkeeper or custodial platform?

No. The obligation map and the evidence templates work across recordkeeping arrangements. The implementation playbook delivered alongside course access is tuned to your actual plan mix and service provider stack.

Is this aimed at the plan sponsor side or the broker-dealer side?

Both, because the role at a broker-dealer with retirement plan exposure sits across both. The course handles the plan-sponsor compliance obligations and the broker-dealer-specific overlay on rollovers, proprietary fund offerings, and supervisory documentation.

How current is the regulatory content?

The course covers the current state of DOL EBSA guidance, IRS Employee Plans correction programs, the PTE 2020-02 rollover regime, the DOL cybersecurity best practices, and the standing Form 5500 and audit reporting framework. Updates issued during your access period are reflected in template revisions.

Will completing this satisfy continuing education requirements?

The course delivers substantive ERISA compliance content but is not pre-credentialed for CE. Where your professional designation permits self-reporting of substantive content, the modules and time investment support that submission.

What if my program needs sit on the IRA custodial side rather than employer plans?

The IRA rollover, PTE 2020-02, prohibited transaction, and party-in-interest content applies directly. The employer plan-specific modules still serve as the structural map for the obligations that flow into the IRA from the employer side.

30-day money-back guarantee. If after a week of working through the materials this is not what you needed, reply to the receipt email and a full refund is processed. No questions, no forms.

Within 24 hours your account in the learning environment is provisioned and the tailored implementation playbook is delivered alongside it.