According to one industry publication, there were 3,677 Department of Labor qualified retirement plan audit investigations in 2013. Settlements related to violations totaled $1.7 billion in plan reimbursements and fines. Following are some suggestions that may help you avoid a DOL audit of your retirement plan:
1. Respond to employee inquiries in a timely way. The most frequent trigger for a DOL audit is a complaint received from an employee. These complaints can originate from terminated employees who feel poorly treated or existing employees who feel ignored. Make sure you are sensitive to employee concerns and respond in a timely way to all questions. Be very professional in how you treat those individuals who are terminated even though in certain instances that may be difficult.
