With the Holiday season about to start, we know that the end of the year will soon follow. While plan participants maybe more concerned about holiday shopping or the firm's annual holiday party, it's a great and necessary opportunity for plan sponsors like yourself to take a look at your retirement plan before the new calendar plan year begins because there maybe some changes you may want to or need to make before the end of the current plan year. So this article is about end of year tips for retirement plan sponsors.

To read the article, please click here.

International Paper is paying $30 million in a settlement for a class action lawsuit concerning their 401(k) plan for claims resulting on having their own stock in the plan, unreasonable hidden plan expenses, and fraudulently reported performance histories. Cigna paid $35 million in claims over their Plan.

Most plans aren't big enough to have a class action lawsuit against them, but they have other fears that plan sponsors aren't even aware of. While a $1 million plan isn't going to be sued by an ERISA attorney in a class action lawsuit unless they're starving, retirement plans can be targeted by an employee or two to get a quick, inexpensive settlement or the government can audit them.

In the old days, it was kind of a blue line that most plan participants never crossed and the courts didn't recognize a participant's right in making sure that plan expenses are reasonable.

It's been quite some time that unreasonable plan expenses have been an issue for plans and it went from plan sponsors winning on every turn into what looks like a Washington Generals type losing streak.

The days where plan sponsors can look the other way about their retirement plan is long over. They either need to shape up or get shipped out by participants and/or the Department of Labor.

The two greatest people I ever knew were my maternal grandparents, Emil and Rozalia Berla. They both survived the Holocaust, both surviving their parents and siblings. My grandfather lost his first wife and young daughter; the Americans at Buchenwald liberated him.  My grandmother was liberated from the concentration camp by the Soviets and they left her to die because she suffered from typhoid. The Soviet soldiers were surprised to see her still alive three days later because my grandmother had a will to live like no one else.

They were truly an inspiration to me; they both survived one of the most horrific and barbaric events in human history to live fairly normal lives, full of love and selflessness. As a father, I try to pay that love and selflessness forward.

One of my favorite places on Earth is Stony Brook University or as I still call it, the State University of New York at Stony Brook where I proudly graduated in 1994. The place sort of reminds me of my grandparents in the sense that the place did a lot for me and taught me lessons that I carry to this day (meeting the right friends there helped as well) and never asked for anything it returned. Like my grandparents, Stony Brook never made itself out to be more than what it was, it allowed me the freedom to grow and let my voice to be heard.

So what better way than paying back the debt I owed to my grandparents and Stony Brook (which I never will fully repay) by combining the people I love with the place I love?

So I started The Rozalia and Emil Berla Memorial Scholarship Fund that will benefit a Stony Brook undergraduate who has shown excellence in history, primarily the history about the Holocaust.  The first year for the scholarship is fully funded, but I'd like to raise more money so that the fund can grow and continue into the future.

What's the point? I'm not the guy who is going to hit you up for golf outings, charity events, etc. This is the one cause I am going to solicit money for.

So if my articles helped you in anyway or got you a client or my free phone call of advice benefited you or if I made a connection that benefited you or made a speech at your event, I only ask that you consider giving something to this tax-deductible scholarship fund. Not asking for $1,000 or even a $100, a $5, $10, or $20 donation would suffice.

There is an online link to contribute  here via credit card

For mailing payments, make checks payable to Stony Brook Foundation.  The Berla Scholarship should be noted on the memo line.

Send to Jane McArthur c/o College of Arts & Sciences, E3320 Melville Library, Stony Brook, New York  11794-3391.  All gifts will be noted with a tax receipt.

If you make a donation, please let me know because the University won't let me know (their privacy guidelines). I truly appreciate the consideration.