Blog
Perspectives on RFPs, fiduciary process, and vendor evaluation.
Jun 8 Can a Broker or Advisor Objectively Run Their Own RFP? Can brokers or advisors objectively manage an RFP process when they are also being evaluated? Learn why independence matters in fiduciary vendor evaluations.
Jun 1 Why More Plan Sponsors Are Outsourcing the RFP Process *More plan sponsors are outsourcing benefit and retirement plan RFPs to improve objectivity, efficiency, and fiduciary defensibility. Learn why this shift is accelerating.*
May 25 How Plan Sponsors Should Evaluate Their Retirement Plan Advisor Evaluating a retirement plan advisor is one of a plan sponsor's core fiduciary responsibilities. Here's what that process should actually include.
May 18 Common Mistakes in Retirement Plan RFPs Most retirement plan RFPs aren't run badly on purpose. These are the structural mistakes that quietly undermine the process, and the documentation.
May 11 What Makes a Retirement Plan RFP Defensible? Collecting proposals isn't the same as running a defensible RFP. Here's what separates a process that holds up from one that creates exposure.
May 4 When Should Plan Sponsors Conduct an RFP for Their Retirement Plan? Most retirement plan RFPs are triggered by problems. The sponsors who avoid those problems are the ones who evaluate proactively. Here's what that looks like.- Apr 20 What a Fiduciary Lawsuit Actually Examines First When fiduciary decisions are challenged, courts examine the process behind them. Learn what regulators and courts actually evaluate when reviewing plan sponsor decisions.
- Apr 13 Self-funding and Fiduciary Responsibility: What Employers Often Overlook Self-funded health plans provide employers with greater control and transparency, but they also increase fiduciary oversight responsibilities. Learn what many plan sponsors overlook.
- Apr 6 The Hidden Fiduciary Risk in Long-standing Vendor Relationships Long-standing vendor relationships can create comfort, but they may also reduce oversight. Learn why periodic evaluation is critical for plan sponsors.
- Mar 30 Why Timing Matters: the Overlooked Seasonality of Broker Evaluations Most broker evaluations happen too late in the year. Learn why timing matters and how earlier evaluations lead to better, more defensible decisions.
- Mar 23 What ERISA Attorneys Wish Plan Sponsors Understood Earlier ERISA attorneys often see the same fiduciary mistakes repeated by plan sponsors. Learn what they wish employers understood earlier about oversight, documentation, and decision-making.
- Mar 16 How Private Equity Is Reshaping the Benefits and Retirement Landscape Private equity investment is rapidly reshaping the benefits and retirement industries. Learn what plan sponsors should understand about consolidation, incentives, and oversight.
- Mar 9 Should Plan Sponsors Conduct an RFP, or Is Benchmarking Enough? Many plan sponsors wonder whether benchmarking is enough or if a full RFP is necessary. Learn how fiduciary standards evaluate both approaches.
- Feb 16 What Should Trigger a Fiduciary Review, and Why Waiting Can Create Risk Fiduciary reviews shouldn’t be driven by problems alone. Learn the key events that should trigger a review, and why proactive action protects plan sponsors.
- Feb 9 What a Defensible Fiduciary Process Actually Looks Like for Plan Sponsors Many plan sponsors know they are fiduciaries, but don’t know what a defensible process looks like. Learn the practical elements regulators and courts expect to see.
- Feb 2 How Often Plan Sponsors Should Review Service Providers, and Why Timing Matters Many plan sponsors aren’t sure how often they should review benefit plan service providers. Learn what fiduciary standards expect, and how to avoid common timing mistakes
- Jan 26 Broker Compensation and Fiduciary Risk: What Plan Sponsors Need to Understand Now Broker compensation structures can create fiduciary risk plan sponsors rarely see. Learn how commissions, incentives, and transparency requirements are changing expectations.
- Jan 19 Why Relying on Non-fiduciaries Creates Risk, Even When Everyone Is Acting in Good Faith Plan sponsors often rely on brokers and consultants who are not fiduciaries. Learn why that reliance creates risk, and what sponsors are expected to manage themselves.
- Jan 12 Why Benefit Brokers Are (usually) Not Considered Fiduciaries, and Why That’s Becoming a Problem Many plan sponsors don’t realize they are fiduciaries under federal law. Learn what fiduciary responsibility actually means, and why understanding it early matters.
- Dec 10 Benchmarking Fees vs. Evaluating Providers: Why Both Matter, and Why Sponsors Confuse Them Fee benchmarking alone won’t satisfy ERISA requirements. Learn the key differences between benchmarking and provider evaluation, and why both are essential for compliance.
- Dec 10 What Attorneys Wish Their Clients Understood About Fiduciary Duty ERISA attorneys see fiduciary risk long before their clients do. Here are the five things plan sponsors often misunderstand, and what attorneys wish they knew.
- Dec 10 The Parallel Paths: Why Health Benefit Plans Are Entering the Same Litigation Cycle as Retirement Plans Health benefit plans are entering the same litigation cycle that reshaped retirement plans. Learn the warning signs, and what plan sponsors must do now.
- Dec 10 How Vendor Relationships Can Create Hidden Fiduciary Risk, Even When Performance Is Strong Strong vendor relationships can still create fiduciary risk. Learn why familiarity, loyalty, and convenience may undermine compliance, even when performance is solid.
- May 28 Why Your Internal RFP May Not Hold up in Court Most plan sponsors assume that their internal RFP process is “good enough.” They compare a few vendors, pull together a committee, and settle on a partner they trust. But under ERISA, “good…
- May 28 The #1 Reason ERISA Attorneys Refer Us, and What They Know That You Don’t ERISA attorneys don’t refer vendors lightly. Learn why so many trust Culpepper RFP to protect their clients from fiduciary risk, and what they see long before plan sponsors do.
- May 28 What Plan Sponsors Can Learn From Fiduciary Litigation Headlines The latest ERISA lawsuits aren’t about fraud, they’re about process. Learn what today’s headlines reveal about your risk exposure and how to avoid becoming one.