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Your committee's benefit and investment decisions create different concerns from theft by someone handling plan assets. Fiduciary liability, any applicable fidelity bond and benefit-correction costs should not be treated as the same protection.
Identify the plan regime, committee and funds handlers before comparing fiduciary, fidelity and administration terms.
You hold and invest retirement plan assets under fiduciary standards, overseeing payments and participant data. A mismanaged investment or an error in calculating benefits can lead to personal liability for fiduciaries.
The Southern Agency can review the actual plan structure, committee roles and administration duties with you. We can compare benefit-plan fiduciary liability with administration and cyber terms, while referring the applicable fidelity-bond obligations and exemptions for qualified review rather than assuming every pension plan follows the same rules.
Trustees or committee members may face allegations about imprudent investments, fees or conflicts. The applicable duties and remedies depend on the plan's actual legal regime; ERISA should not be assumed to govern every pension fund.
Mistakes in eligibility, vesting, or benefit amounts can lead to participant claims and correction obligations.
Regulatory examination of plan governance and compliance can bring defense costs, penalties, and enforcement exposure.
People handling plan assets may steal or embezzle them. Applicable fidelity-bond requirements and covered handlers need review under the actual plan regime, separately from liability for investment or benefit decisions.
Ongoing payments to many participants create exposure to fraudulent claims, redirected payments, and overpayment loss.
Plan records hold Social Security numbers and financial data, creating privacy and breach-notification exposure.
Policies to ask about. Which ones fit depends on your operations, your contracts, and the carrier’s forms.
These hypothetical examples are not agency claim results. Whether a loss is covered depends on the facts, policy terms, and applicable exclusions.
Suppose participants challenge the committee's oversight of plan fees. Benefit-plan fiduciary terms may address a covered claim if the plan regime, insured roles, claimant and alleged duties fit the grant. Defense and covered damages differ from restoring investment returns or automatically refunding every fee.
Suppose an eligibility calculation produces incorrect payments to a group of retirees. Review who performed the administration and whether the actual policy includes a covered service claim or correction benefit. Ordinary benefits owed, contributions and internal recalculation costs are not automatically insured just because an error occurred.
Suppose a person handling plan assets diverts money for personal use. Applicable fidelity terms may address proved dishonesty involving the covered handler and plan interest. Establish the transaction, discovery and notice facts; benefit overpayments, market losses and fiduciary allegations are different questions.
Start with the work you do and the questions your current policies leave unanswered. Carrier options depend on your location, risk, and underwriting. Explore our approach.
Review actual plan regime and insured plan/committee/service-provider roles. Benefit-plan fiduciary liability, eligible fidelity bonding, administration E&O, and cyber address different questions; corporate D&O is not automatic fiduciary cover and no universal mix is established.
Determine whether the plan and actual funds handling are subject to ERISA or another regime and whether exemptions apply. ERISA bonding does not apply to every pension plan or fiduciary; a fiduciary liability policy does not satisfy an applicable plan theft bond requirement.
Fiduciaries can face personal liability for breaches. Fiduciary-liability coverage may help protect them, depending on the specific policy and the facts.
The bond addresses dishonesty losses to the plan, while fiduciary liability addresses breach-of-duty claims against those managing it, subject to policy terms.
Plan records hold Social Security numbers and financial data. Cyber coverage may help with breach response and liability, depending on the specific policy.
Review actual accepted administration duty and loss/extension terms. Ordinary benefits owed, contributions, overpayments and internal correction are not automatically insured damages merely because a calculation error occurred.
Bring your questions, current policies, and relevant contracts. An agent can review coverage terms, exclusions, and the information carriers ask for, then explain the options available to you.
