Responsibilities of Plan Fiduciaries

Q. What are the responsibilities of a plan fiduciary?

A. Fiduciaries have important responsibilities and are subject to certain standards of conduct because they act on behalf of the participants in the plan. These responsibilities include: 

• acting solely in the interest of plan participants and their beneficiaries, with the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to them; 
• carrying out their duties with skill, prudence, and diligence; 
• following the plan documents (unless inconsistent with ERISA);
• diversifying plan investments; 
• paying only reasonable expenses of administering the plan and investing its assets; 
• avoiding conflicts of interest;
• selecting investment providers;
• selecting investment options, and 
• monitoring performance of investment providers and investment options.