Saver’s Match fiduciary risk is arriving faster than the rules meant to govern it. Plans must decide how to respond before the system is fully built.
Posts From Christopher Carosa, CTFA
Once the regulatory gaps are acknowledged, the issue quickly shifts from theory to action. Plan sponsors are not just waiting for guidance. They are being forced to decide whether to engage with the Saver’s Match at all.
Private equity is knocking on the 401k door again as a designated investment alternative. Does expanded access mean expanded fiduciary risk?
Private equity inside a daily-valued, participant-directed plan introduces structural tension. Illiquid assets must coexist with participant liquidity expectations. Valuations must be estimated where markets do not exist. And governance must bridge that gap without introducing bias or delay.
The 401k fiduciary rule is gone again. The risk is not. In this regulatory limbo, plan sponsors face more exposure, not less.
Viewing this content requires a Basic (Free) Membership or better. You are not currently logged in. If you have an
ERISA meaningful benchmark debate heads to Supreme Court just as private equity pushes deeper into 401k plans. Are committees ready?
Private equity investments raise a second layer of fiduciary difficulty because they are not simply harder to compare. They are also harder to value, harder to redeem, and harder to explain to participants who may assume daily-priced plan options operate under familiar public-market rules.
Even with DOL support, 401k forfeiture practices are facing a new wave of aggressive litigation. Is your plan exposed?
Ongoing forfeiture lawsuits involving major plans are reshaping how courts evaluate fiduciary oversight. Sponsors who rely on routine processes may discover that governance gaps create legal exposure for committees and financial harm for participants.
