Client Service

As retirees drawing Social Security income look forward to a modest increase in benefits scheduled for 2019, AARP has published a list of common Social Security misconceptions.

A lot is happening to open the doors for small businesses to offer retirement plans to employees; advisers have new opportunities and challenges as a result.

They can also prompt participants to make other important improvements to their savings strategies, Voya Financial learned.

Monthly expenses are their second concern, The Standard found in a survey.

According to Brian Donohue, with October Three Consulting, the master strategy to get to full-funding-but-no-surplus on termination is to reduce plan risk by gradually changing the plan’s asset strategy as the plan approaches full funding—the “glide path” strategy that some sponsors have adopted.

The report also found a decline in future rates of mortality improvement. 

Debt is getting in the way of saving for retirement, and many want help with investing, preferring to work with an adviser in person, a survey found.

This is true for only 43% of all business owners.

Clients with defined benefit plans that are currently enjoying a bump in funded status may want to act soon to lock in those gains while market conditions remain favorable.

There may be more upfront effort with smaller clients, but once they are on board, they take less time, according to Cerulli.

A report from Deloitte explores mechanisms to prevent loan leakage, including policy changes to plan design, loan education programs, debt consolidation, payroll program automation, and 401(k) loan insurance.

This means building trust by underscoring that they are acting in the client’s best interest and also getting to know them personally.

Based on the results of a new CANNEX study, advisers who are looking to provide clients with guaranteed income should seriously consider both income annuities and savings annuity contracts that offer GLWBs.

Financial wellness programs can leverage employees' financial personalities to decide their approach to financial wellness programs, PwC says.

Most HSAs do not even have an investment component, but this will change, as health care brokers have been driving plan sponsor adoption of HSAs, but in the future advisers will, Jamie Greenleaf, with Cafaro Greenleaf, told attendees of PLANSPONSOR’s 2018 HSA Conference.

Speakers at PLANSPONSOR's 2018 HSA Conference discussed educating participants about investing health savings account (HSA) assets and planning for retirement health care costs.

According to FPA, financial planners who engage in “know your client” behaviors gain deeper personal fulfillment from many more of their client relationships.

Willis Towers Watson suggests portals integrated with financial planning tools can help employees make strategic decisions about where to best save their money based on their unique financial situation.

When individuals plan ahead for long-term care, they can better secure their own future while reducing financial burdens on their friends and family.

Sponsors expect their advisers to be proactive and to push their plans to the next level.