I live in an unincorporated village in Nassau County called Oceanside. We have a school board there that doesn’t have issues about hiring friends and family for teaching positions and low paid aide positions. In fact, 3 out of the 7 board members have children who work for the district and were hired after their parents were elected to the school board. The board and the superintendent (all of who belong to the same civic organization) claim that there is nothing wrong with nepotism. Hiring someone who is a relative gives the impression that something underhanded was done and that the hiring process isn’t above question. While there is nothing legally wrong with the school board hiring a relative, retirement plans can’t serve as a patronage mill as ERISA makes it clear that retirement benefits must be for the exclusive benefit of its participants. So “juicing” your buddy in as the financial advisor or ERISA attorney or third party administrator (TPA) contradicts the exclusive benefit rule and would certainly be considered a breach of fiduciary duty. So the selection of your relative or buddy as a plan provider has two landmines that might not be avoided, the selection might be a prohibited transaction and/or breach of fiduciary duty.