I served almost 10 years as an ERISA attorney for two third-party administration (TPAs) firms. A good chunk of my time was putting out fires, caused by my untrained plan administrators. So unlike some ERISA attorneys who know no life outside a law firm setting, I have a special understanding of what goes on with plan provisions and how they may be messed up.

I stress the concept of keeping it simple, stupid. I like provisions that are less likely to be screwed up. One area is the match. While I understand the desire of plan sponsors to match employee deferrals on a payroll period basis, I prefer that contributions are made at year-end. The more times the employer contributes, the more likely there is an error in the calculation and allocation. When it comes to plan administration, fewer acts by the plan sponsor and the TPA is more. In addition, how many plan sponsors were in trouble when they matched on a payroll period basis and no longer had the funds to fund them during the initial COVID outbreak.

A year-end match that is discretionary creates flexibility and fewer chances of the allocation getting screwed up.