Michael J. Olah & Associates, LLC. provides a broad range of retirement plan consulting services. By using a combination of internal resources and a network of industry professionals, we can effectively and efficiently address issues ranging from plan design to fiduciary responsibilities to controversy resolution on audit or in litigation.
Key Benefits
Cost effective solutions - we help our clients make the most of their retirement plan budget
Best of breed - by using the right resource at the right time
Creative solutions that address each client uniquely
Key Capabilities
Vendor Search, Selection, and Management
Evaluating your current service providers and exploring alternatives will ensure that you are receiving those services necessary for achieving corporate objectives and facilitating retirement success for employees. We can review your current offerings, help determine what additional capabilities are needed, negotiate with your vendors, and if necessary, search for new providers that will more closely match services with goals, at competitive pricing.
Plan Design or Redesign and Document Drafting
Starting from an examination of what a plan sponsor really wants to accomplish with their plan, we will create a design that maximizes the ability of the employer to accomplish their goals, eliminating barriers, and strives to maximize the return on their benefits dollars budgeted. We then will monitor the plan and it's design to ensure it stays on track and recommending changes when desirable.
Fiduciary Review & Recommendations/Education
Operating a retirement plan entails undertaking risk. Managing that risk requires a thorough understanding of each fiduciary's role and responsibility, and ensuring that all parties are operating consistent with ERISA. We will help your organization identify potential problems, offer solutions, and implement a decision making process to ensure risks are mitigated consistent with ERISA.
Operational & Compliance Audits
Operational accuracy is essential for ensuring that a plan remains in compliance with the various regulatory pronouncements. Vendors don't always operate the plan with all of the nuances that make the plan unique to an employer, and errors can, and do creep in. Understanding where the differences are between your plan design and a vendor's capabilities, and what the root cause of errors is, can help you increase the efficiency of running your plan, decrease friction between you and your service providers, and maximize the ability to actually achieve goals.
Fee and Service Review and Benchmarking
Understanding how and how much a service provider is being paid for operating your plan is not only a fiduciary obligation, but one that can reduce the risk of litigation from opportunist class action lawyers! Nothing in ERISA mandates that you go with the lowest cost provider, but ERISA does mandate that your plan only pay for those services that are "necessary." To determine what is "necessary" you need to benchmark services against your documents objectives for running the plan, and ensure that your plan only pays a fair price for those services. As former "insiders" with service providers, we have a thorough understanding of where the money comes from, where the money is spent, and what "unnecessary" services can be unbundled to reduce costs.
Reference Accounts
We respect our clients desire to remain anonymous - especially when dealing with regulatory issues and financial matters. We will provide selected client references on request concerning our professionalism, consultative approach, and ability to manage client matters efficiently.