Employee Fiduciary

09/01/2026

💡 The Frugal Fiduciary's Tip of the Week 💡

"SECURE 2.0 allows employees to elect Roth treatment for employer matching and nonelective contributions when permitted by their plan. Contributions are immediately taxable to the employee and must be reported as income."

See how Roth employer contributions work: https://www.employeefiduciary.com/blog/roth-matching-and-nonelective-contributions

08/26/2026

Every 401(k) plan is subject to annual nondiscrimination testing, and small business plans fail these tests routinely. A safe harbor 401(k) is exempt: in exchange for a required employer contribution that vests fast, the plan is treated as passing. But that exemption is neither free nor unconditional.

Today's blog covers:

- The two types of safe harbor plan, and the three contribution options under each
- What it really costs
- The deadlines, including one that runs a full year past the plan year it covers
- How SECURE 2.0 changed the math

A safe harbor 401(k) isn't the right answer for every business. It's a trade: a guaranteed employer contribution in exchange for guaranteed testing relief, and whether it's worthwhile depends on facts specific to your business.

Read the full guide here:

Safe harbor 401(k) rules, contribution formulas, 2026 limits, deadlines, and real costs — plus how SECURE 2.0 changed the math for small businesses.

08/25/2026

💡 The Frugal Fiduciary's Tip of the Week 💡

"Vesting is the process by which ownership of the employer contributions you make to a 401(k) plan passes from your company to an employee. As the employer, you decide, within legal limits, how much service an employee must complete before those contributions become theirs to keep."

See how to choose the right vesting schedule for your plan: https://www.employeefiduciary.com/blog/401k-vesting-schedules

08/18/2026

💡 The Frugal Fiduciary's Tip of the Week 💡

"When a 401(k) participant does not make investment choices, their contributions are invested in the plan's default fund. When the default fund meets Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA) requirements, ERISA 404(c) protection is extended, ensuring an employer is not held liable for investment losses incurred in the fund."

Learn what makes a fund a QDIA and how it protects your business: https://www.employeefiduciary.com/blog/erisa-404c

08/12/2026

Vesting is how ownership of your employer contributions passes from your company to an employee, based on how much service they complete before the money is theirs to keep. That makes your vesting schedule a genuine business decision, one that affects cost, recruiting, and retention all at once.

Today's blog covers:
- What you can and cannot vest
- The schedules the law allows
- How vesting service is measured
- Whether your plan needs one

The goal isn't necessarily to vest as slowly as the law allows. It's to match your schedule to your workforce and your budget.

Read the full blog here:

A small business owner's guide to 401(k) vesting schedules: which contributions can be vested, how vesting is calculated, and whether your plan needs one.

08/11/2026

💡The Frugal Fiduciary's Tip of the Week💡

"Small businesses can save up to $16,500 on their taxes by starting a safe harbor 401(k) plan. All small business tax credits available to conventional 401(k) plans are offered to safe harbor 401(k) plans."

See how a safe harbor plan works for a small business: https://hubs.ly/Q04szVKs0

Sign up for a safe harbor 401(k) with Employee Fiduciary by September 15 to meet the October 1 IRS deadline.

08/07/2026

Don’t miss the deadline!

September 15 is the Employee Fiduciary deadline to request a new safe harbor 401(k) plan for 2026 — timed so your plan can be adopted by the IRS’s October 1 deadline for new calendar-year safe harbor plans.

A safe harbor 401(k) helps:
✅ Automatically pass the annual IRS nondiscrimination tests (ADP/ACP and top-heavy) when its contribution and participant-notice requirements are met
✅ Unlock up to $16,500 in SECURE 2.0 tax credits
✅ Attract and retain top-tier talent

Get a Quote → https://hubs.ly/Q04sdwXj0

08/05/2026

Wondering how much fidelity bond coverage your 401(k) plan actually needs? For most small plans, it comes down to four steps.

1. Start with the total plan assets your plan officials handle as of the first day of the plan year. For most small plans, the same people handle everything, so this is simply your total plan balance at the start of the year.
2. Multiply that amount by 10%. The result is your baseline required coverage.
3. Apply the $1,000 floor. If 10% comes to less than $1,000, you must still carry a bond of at least $1,000.
4. Apply the $500,000 ceiling. You never have to bond more than $500,000, or $1,000,000 if the plan holds employer stock, no matter how large the plan grows.

Most small plans can be fully bonded for about $100 a year.

Our latest blog answers the most common fidelity bond questions we get, including how to size your plan's bond with worked examples.

Read the full blog here: https://hubs.ly/Q04rYcbz0

08/04/2026

💡The Frugal Fiduciary's Tip of the Week💡

"When it comes to retirement, there are plenty of things you can't control—the stock market, inflation, or future tax policy. But you can control how much you pay in 401(k) fees."

See what excessive fees could be costing your plan: https://hubs.ly/Q04rNVm30

07/29/2026

If you sponsor a 401(k) plan, ERISA requires you to carry a fidelity bond, insurance that protects your plan's participants if someone who handles plan money steals or misuses those funds.

It's one of the easiest requirements to get wrong, and the risk is yours personally. If money goes missing from a plan that isn't properly bonded, you can be left to repay the loss out of your own pocket.

The good news is that meeting the requirement is neither difficult nor expensive. Most small plans can be fully bonded for about $100 a year.

Today's blog answers the most common questions we get, including:
- What an ERISA fidelity bond is and who must be bonded
- How much coverage your plan needs
- How a fidelity bond differs from fiduciary liability insurance
- The consequences of getting it wrong

When you understand the basics, it's rarely difficult to meet ERISA's bonding requirements.

Read the full blog here:

A plain-English guide to 401(k) fidelity bonds: what ERISA requires, how much coverage you need, and how to calculate it—starting around $100 a year.