Retire Ready

The firm acts as a named 3(16) plan fiduciary under ERISA, which means it assumes legal responsibility for the administrative and compliance functions of a qualified retirement plan. This includes preparing and signing the annual Form 5500, conducting nondiscrimination testing, managing participant notices and disclosures, processing loans and distributions, and maintaining plan documents. By taking on these duties, Retire Ready reduces the personal liability of the business owner or plan trustee.

Retire Ready does not earn compensation based on assets under management. The firm charges a fixed service fee — typically annual or per-participant — for its fiduciary and administrative services. This model aligns its incentives with ongoing compliance and operational efficiency rather than asset accumulation, and it shields the firm from the fee-compression pressures affecting asset-based revenue in the retirement industry.

No. Retire Ready is an administrative fiduciary, not a registered investment adviser in the context of plan-level asset management. It retains no discretion over the selection or monitoring of plan investments. In a typical engagement, a separate financial advisor or 3(38) investment manager handles the investment lineup, while Retire Ready focuses exclusively on the plan's administrative compliance under its 3(16) appointment.

The firm's public materials and historical domain records indicate a focus on defined contribution plans, primarily 401(k) and 403(b) arrangements for private-sector employers and non-profit organizations. It is not known to administer defined benefit pension plans or cash balance plans, given the fundamentally different actuarial and funding requirements those plans entail.

Under an ERISA 3(16) engagement, Retire Ready accepts co-fiduciary responsibility for the ministerial and administrative functions it performs. If the firm fails to timely file a Form 5500, bungles a nondiscrimination test, or administers participant loans incorrectly, the primary legal exposure falls on Retire Ready rather than on the sponsoring employer. The employer typically retains fiduciary liability for selecting and monitoring Retire Ready itself, and for any functions — such as investment oversight — that are not delegated.