I always get the call from my third party administrator (TPA) and financial advisory clients concerning the same topic. The topic is how it’s still difficult to get across with potential plan sponsor clients on the urgency to monitor their retirement plans and hire these excellent providers.

Despite fee disclosure regulation and the increased litigation against plan sponsors, you’re always going to be going against the tide by contacting plan sponsors. Plan sponsors are active businesses who either don’t have the time and/or interest to work on their retirement plans.

There will always be a business for doctors because people get sick and they want to get treated to get better. The problem with being a retirement plan provider is that you’re trying to sell services to plan sponsors who don’t know they need your help and don’t understand that there maybe something going wrong with their retirement plan.

It’s hard to articulate to plan sponsors that their plan’s inefficiencies may increase their potential liability and that the current provider may not be doing the right thing in providing services. Plan sponsors don’t understand that they are always on the hook for liability and may pay a heavy price for their plan providers that are incompetent.

So no matter the positive changes with retirement plan in terms of disclosure and litigation that is spurring the end of some unsavory plan practices, it’s always going against the tide in getting plan sponsors to hire you. It’s not you; it’s the plan sponsor.