The Form 5500 asks for total number of participants in a plan, but it's not calculated the way you think it would be. Let's talk about these in more detail and explore some things you can do to keep your plan lean and mean in the participant count.

1)  Not monitoring providers on a regular basis. No matter what, you’re still to blame for oversight. Hiring a prudent expert or a vendor takes work away and shares responsibilities, but you will always maintain the responsibility to make sure they’re qualified and doing their job.

It's important that your company's internal procedures actually reflect those of the retirement plan document! Here are some examples.