- Does the plan sponsor have a prototype, volume submitter, or individually designed plan document?
- Have there been any recent changes to the plan document?
- Have there been any changes to any of the service providers, including payroll and record keepers, over the past few years?
- Has the plan sponsor had to perform any corrections recently, perhaps without fully understanding how the errors occurred?
- Have there been any data changes or file changes as they are provided to the record keeper?
- Is there money in the budget to cover the review?
- Review of the plan document and amendments, along with summary plan descriptions and a summary of material modifications;
- Review of required notices sent to participants, such as quarterly statements, initial and annual 404(a)(5) participant fee disclosures, Qualified Default Investment Alternative notices, safe harbor notices, etc.;
- Review of service provider contracts, such as record keepers and trustees/custodians;
- Discussions with the people who administer the plan, which may include the record keeper, trustee/custodian, payroll and benefits administration personnel;
- Review of plan administrative manuals, record keeper operational manuals, procedural documents and policy statements; and
- Review of sample participant transactions and data for each of the areas being reviewed.
