Having our plan with a national company is protection enough
The Department of Labor has not issued a Safe Harbor or any statutory relief for simply contracting with a large national company to handle your retirement plan. Unless the large national firm acknowledges its co-fiduciary status in writing, a Plan fiduciary has no more statutory protection with a big company than with a small company.
Unless the national company specifically contracts for providing 404(c) compliance, the full burden still falls upon the Plan Fiduciary. The requirements of 404(c) go beyond the provision of template forms and notices that most companies will provide a plan as a normal part of their service. The requirements include proper menu construction (405(d)(1) statutory protection is very handy for this), proper reporting to complete adequate oversight of the menu, proper delivery of prospectus and investment option information, complete and timely notices, and adequate participant education to name a few.
The comfort many Plan fiduciaries perceive having retained a great big company is the thought that these companies ought to know what they are doing. With as many Plans that must invest them, surely if there were any problems they would have come to light already.
404(c) imposes a burden of proof of compliance on each and every transaction resulting from a participant or beneficiary's decision. The Plan fiduciary must evaluate the ability of any service provider, big or small, to give his Plan the level of attention operational compliance will demand.