Principal Enhances Guide to Fiduciary Duties

January 30, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - To address client concerns about meeting Department of Labor and IRS requirements for their retirement plans, The Principal Financial Group has enhanced its guide to fiduciary duties.

The enhanced guide, titled “Understanding and Managing Fiduciary Responsibility: How the Principal Financial Group can Help,” now offers checklists to walk plan sponsors and financial professionals through the processes of operating a plan and complying with fiduciary responsibilities, the Principal said in an announcement (See   Principal Releases New Fiduciary Guide ).

The Principal also introduced a new tool, titled “How to Create a Documented Process,” which provides education on the importance of documenting the decisionmaking process and offers sample documents for plan sponsors.

The enhanced guide and new tool can be found in the Principal Sponsor Service Center at  www.principal.com .

In addition, the Principal has released a white paper, “Fiduciary Issues for Financial Professionals Under ERISA,” to educate financial professionals on how the duties they perform make them a fiduciary to their clients’ retirement plans.   The white paper is co-authored by Fred Reish and Bruce Ashton, of Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen and is available through the Service Center.

«