At Kaizen Retirement Plan Consultants, our focus is on making retirement plan responsibilities easier to navigate. Whether you are an experienced fiduciary or managing your first plan, these FAQs provide responses to common sponsor questions.

Fiduciary Guidance

• What does it mean to be a fiduciary under ERISA?
  A fiduciary is anyone who exercises discretionary authority over a retirement plan or its assets, including plan sponsors, committees, and advisors. Fiduciaries must act solely in the best interest of participants and beneficiaries, with legal and financial accountability.

• How does Kaizen support fiduciary responsibilities?
  We provide fiduciary-first guidance as either a 3(21) co-fiduciary (recommendations, sponsor retains authority) or a 3(38) investment manager (discretionary authority for investments). In both roles, our services may include investment monitoring, documentation support, and governance resources.

Plan Design & Strategy

• Can you help improve participation and savings rates?
  Yes. We review plan design and demographics, then may recommend features such as automatic enrollment, escalation, or employer match adjustments. We also assist with employee communications.

• How often should our plan be benchmarked?
  At least annually. We compare fees, services, and investments to similar plans to provide perspective and highlight potential adjustments.

Vendor Coordination

• Do we have to change recordkeepers to work with Kaizen?
  Not necessarily. We work with most major providers and can support your current recordkeeper. If a change is needed, we assist with RFPs, searches, and due diligence.

Investment Oversight

• How do you monitor our investment menu?
  We use a structured process supported by RPAG tools, applying consistent screening and providing reports, recommendations, and documentation for fiduciary decision-making.

About Kaizen

• What is the focus of Kaizen Retirement Plan Consultants?
  Our practice is dedicated exclusively to retirement plan consulting. The name “Kaizen” reflects our philosophy of continuous improvement and ongoing refinement.

• Are you a fiduciary?
  Yes. We act as a fiduciary under ERISA Section 3(21) or 3(38), depending on the engagement, with the scope defined in each client’s written agreement.

Fiduciary Disclosure

Retirement plan advisors acting as fiduciaries have responsibilities and limitations that depend on their specific ERISA role. As 3(21) advisors, we provide recommendations while plan sponsors retain final decision-making authority. As 3(38) managers, we accept discretionary authority for investments, but only within the investment function. Both roles are limited to investment-related duties and defined by the scope of each client’s written agreement.