Is your Retirement Plan Advisor Earning Their Fees?

Is your Retirement Plan Advisor Earning Their Fees?

Are you getting what you’re paying for with your retirement plan? You’re far from the only employer who may be wondering that.

In this episode, we break down what an advisor’s role should be, important benchmarks to track, how to spot red flags, and how to turn your plan into something that actually supports your people and your business.

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Johnathan Horman: Welcome back to Capital Conversations. I'm Jonathan Horman, and today we're talking about a question that honestly doesn't get asked nearly enough in the retirement plan world: Is your plan advisor actually earning their fee?

To help break this all down, I'm joined by our in-house retirement plan consultant, Alexia Keil. She works every day with employers, employees, and advisory teams to ensure these plans are not only compliant, but actually helpful.

Alexia, welcome.

Alexia Keil: Thanks for having me. This is a topic I love digging into because while it sounds like a simple question, the reality is most plan sponsors aren't sure what they should be getting from their advisor.

Johnathan Horman: Exactly. And many don't realize until something goes wrong. Or until we show them what good actually looks like.

So let's start with the foundation. An organization hires an advisor for their 401k, 403B or 457 plan. What are they paying for?

Alexia Keil: They're paying for partnership. It's not just about picking a few mutual funds and calling it a day.

A good advisor or advisory team should be monitoring the investments and benchmarking fees ongoing, helping employees make smart decisions regarding their retirement, advising the employer on plan design to stay competitive, and also documenting fiduciary oversight to reduce liability.

Another added bonus, [they] should be a vetted contact for employees to have access to personal financial advice.

Johnathan Horman: Right. I always say, if you only hear from your advisor during the annual enrollment meeting, that's not a relationship. That's a transaction.

Alexia Keil: Exactly. And that approach just doesn't deliver value.

Think of all the changes that can happen over here. Regulatory updates, new hires, economic shifts. A good advisor is staying ahead of those for you.

Johnathan Horman: Let's be honest. What do we typically see when we're brought to in to evaluate a plan?

Alexia Keil: Honestly, a lot of under-engagement. The advisor might show up once a year. A PowerPoint presentation, maybe. Maybe they check the box on an investment review, but there's no employee education, no fee benchmarking, no plan design review.

Johnathan Horman: And still collecting a half a percent fee or more?

Alexia Keil: Yep. So let's do the math. Think about it. A plan with $3 million in assets paying half a percent, that's $15,000 a year.

Johnathan Horman: Wow. That's a meaningful number. I mean, if you're not seeing meaningful work, strategy sessions, participant education, documentation, you have to ask, what exactly are you paying for?

Alexia Keil: That kind of proactive support not only improves participant outcomes, it builds trust. And employers see that too. They know their people are getting real help.

We had a construction company. An owner reached out to us after hearing from the CPA that their fees were too high. He'd been with the same advisor and record keeper for years, which happens and is normal. While he trusted them, he'd never seen a formal benchmarking report or fee breakdown.

We conducted a full review comparing fee services, investment performance, of course. [We] found that not only were the fees significantly above industry average, but employees weren't using the plan effectively. Participation was low and there hadn't been any targeted education in over two years, if you can believe that.

After going through our side by side analysis, he decided to make a change. We helped transition the plan to a more cost effective platform, added auto enrollment, [and] rolled out a tailored education campaign.

Six months later, participation had jumped by nearly 30% and he was saving over $10,000 a year in plan costs, money that went right back into the business.

Johnathan Horman: Wow. And that's not just about helping individual employees. We had a business owner recently who thought their plan was fine. They were funding it, but the structure still may have not made sense.

Once we dug in, we found outdated design features, high fees, and no real strategy behind how the plan supported the company's goals. After we restructured things, they were able to lower cost, boost participation, and actually use the plan as a tool to retain key employees and reduce their own tax burden.

Alexia Keil: Exactly. That's a shift from thinking of the plan as a checkbox to treating it like a strategic asset. When designed and managed intentionally, a retirement plan can do so much more than just meet minimum requirements.

Johnathan Horman: So let's say a listener is wondering about their current advisor. What are some of the warning signs they should watch for?

Alexia Keil: Here's a few:

• No regular participant meetings, of course, no documentation of investment reviews or claim benchmarking.
• Document, document, document.
• No strategic conversations with HR or leadership, genetic cookie cutter presentations, no relevance to the team, and no advice on plan design features or legislative changes.

That's just a few.

Johnathan Horman: I'd add if they haven't mentioned Secure 2.0 by now, that's a problem.

Alexia Keil: Absolutely. The industry is changing fast, and your advisor should be helping you stay on top of those shifts, not leaving you to Google it yourself.

Johnathan Horman: So Alexia, if someone's listening and realizes this sounds too familiar, what's their next step?

Alexia Keil: Start with one question for your advisor: “Can you show us what value you've delivered over the past years?” If the answer is vague or they get defensive, that tells you a lot.

Then, don't be afraid to get a second opinion. It doesn't cost anything. It's confidential and it might make a real difference for your team's financial future.

Johnathan Horman: Perfectly said. We're here for those conversations. We're not here to pressure people. We're here to elevate outcomes.

Big thanks to Alexia for joining us today. Of course, if you're questioning whether your plan is earning their fee, or just want to gut check, we'd be happy to walk through a complimentary review with you.

This is Capital Conversations. Until next time.

Take care of your people and make sure your plan is doing what it's supposed to do.

The opinions expressed in this program are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security. It is only intended to provide education about the financial industry. To determine which investments may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing.

As always, please remember investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. Please seek advice from a licensed professional. Correct Capital Wealth Management is a registered investment advisor. Advisory services are only offered.

Capital Conversations | Correct Capital Wealth Management

Your retirement plan should be a strategic advantage—not a sunk cost. If anything we talked about today sounds familiar, it might be time for a second opinion on your plan.

We offer complimentary, confidential plan reviews that give you clarity and confidence—no pressure, just honest insights. Whether you stick with your current advisor or decide to make a change, you’ll walk away with a better understanding of what your plan could be doing for your team.

You can give us a call at 877-930-401(k), contact us online, or schedule a meeting with a member of our advisory team to get started.