I recently participated in an industry webcast which outlined the Department of Labor’s enforcement priorities for 2026. Unsurprisingly, one focus continues to be on fiduciaries and whether they are adequately performing their responsibilities to their qualified retirement plans. What stuck out to me most was the increased scrutiny on the activities of certain types of service-provider level fiduciaries. The overarching goal of focusing on fiduciary-related activities is to ensure that both plan-level and service-provider fiduciaries are acting solely in the best interests of the plan and its participants.
The DOL’s focus on fiduciaries is not intended as a “gotcha”. The intention is to safeguard plan participants from potential misconduct. The question is who exactly are these fiduciaries subject to this oversight? Among plan sponsors and their advisors, there is still confusion about the answer to this question, so here is a brief discussion of what (not necessarily who) a retirement plan fiduciary is.
The term “fiduciary” sounds intimidating, but the reality is pretty simple. A fiduciary, in the context of a retirement plan, is anyone who has authority or responsibility over the management of the plan, its assets, or certain key decisions related to the plan. More simply put, if you make decisions about the retirement plan, you may be a plan fiduciary. One of the most common misconceptions is that fiduciary status only applies to individuals who are formally named in plan documents. Unfortunately, that is not accurate. Anyone can become a fiduciary based on the role they actually perform for the plan. So, surprise! It is possible to become a fiduciary because of what you do, not just based on job title.
Even though fiduciaries are held to a high standard of care under ERISA, finding out you are a fiduciary is not cause for alarm or panic. Fiduciary responsibility is less about perfection and more about process. You are not expected to own a crystal ball so you can predict the future. You are simply required to act in the plan participants’ best interests, make decisions thoughtfully, ask good questions, review the pertinent information, and document what you did. Being a fiduciary is much less daunting when you understand the actual expectations and build a solid governance process.
In short, what you do matters more than your title and a strong fiduciary process will always do more for the plan sponsor than good intentions and crossed fingers.
