It’s an uncomfortable question. It’s also a reasonable one.
If you serve on a retirement plan committee, you likely didn’t join because you wanted personal fiduciary exposure. Oversight is simply part of your role, whether you work in HR, finance, operations, or leadership.
And most “plan mistakes” aren’t dramatic.
They tend to be small operational breakdowns, unclear responsibilities, or oversight processes that drift over time.
So let’s take the question directly. Under ERISA, individuals who serve as retirement plan fiduciaries can, in certain circumstances, be held personally liable for losses resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty .
That does not mean every operational error becomes personal liability. But the risk is real, particularly when oversight responsibilities are unclear or important decisions aren’t documented.
