Partnering with other Financial Fiduciaries

The interaction between different financial disciplines is exciting to observe when they’re coordinated to support a family or business in their money goals. But there are other fiduciaries that are often neglected, but nevertheless needed. One such group are the department heads of Human Resources for firms. Surprisingly most HR responsibilities seem to focus on the healthcare arena and do little in the retirement planning area. Many HR heads may not be aware of their fiduciary responsibility to their employees under the jurisdiction of section 404c compliance requirements. This is a serious piece of legislation that dictates the education of retirement plan participants and the oversight of that education falls into the purview of HR. The liability for non-compliance is a significant exposure to HR and the company’s owners.

One such remedy available to HR decision makers is the Society for Financial Awareness (SOFA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit based out of San Diego, California. They have qualified educators from the ranks of financial advisers, insurance agents, attorneys and CPAs. It’s strictly instructional. No product or practice is promoted. Educating people on money items is the core competency of SOFA. The courses are conducted in classroom fashion and are formatted to help retirement participants in their understanding of money, investments and insurance.

Non-profits and charities, like churches, synagogues and mosques as well as fraternal organizations and community groups also benefit greatly through the SOFA faculty of financial educators. All these entities have members who can benefit from on-going financial education.

SOFA has quite an inventory of instructors and speakers that can be used by company HR departments and non-profit entities. It’s one of the few opportunities for the public to learn about money in a non-sales environment.