In Practice

A pervasive fear of running out of money in retirement is not causing Americans to spend less today, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Simplifying the 401(k) plan enrollment process may help employees save more effectively for retirement, says a recent paper from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Roth IRA balances grew at twice the rate of traditional individual retirement accounts (IRAs) between 2010 and 2012, according to a new analysis from the Employee Benefit Research...

Open architecture and an uptick in the use of co-fiduciary services are changing the landscape for investment firms, according to Retirement Research Inc.

Market volatility and questions about interest rates have brought asset allocation and portfolio management to the forefront for financial advisers, according to a Fidelity Investments survey.

About a quarter of working Americans have a nest egg balance of zero, according to a survey from COUNTRY Financial, due in large part to stagnant wage growth.

More employers are recognizing employees need financial education programs to help them deal with financial challenges.

American's retirement readiness levels are not as bad as some predictions make them out to be, according to a Towers Watson report.

It’s well known that federal auditors look for red flags to target review efforts, but one service provider says retirement plan advisers should use them for better business...

Some plan sponsors are unsure about best practices for handling uncashed retirement plan benefit checks, but a new paper aims to help.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans do not know that a 529 plan is a college savings tool, according to the annual 529 Plan Awareness Survey from financial services firm...

Investors tend to be more satisfied with the performance of their financial adviser when they’ve been introduced through a family referral, says new research from Spectrem Group.

The glide path of a target-date fund (TDF) should reach its landing point at the investor's actual retirement date, according to a new BlackRock study.

Employees are recognizing that their financial vulnerabilities are most likely resulting from factors they can control rather than external factors such as the economy or stock market, a...

Target-date funds are the most popular asset allocation strategy, especially for women, according to data from MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division.

Showing plan participants how well and how much their best-performing peers save is highly motivating, Putnam Investments finds.

More corporate and institutional clients are seeking investment consultants and financial advisers with expertise in liability-driven investing (LDI), says a report from Cerulli Associates. 

Average investors are showing renewed confidence and have set aggressive investment targets, according to Natixis Global Asset Management, but outlooks for retirement remain depressed.

Whether their plan is soliciting requests for proposals (RFPs) or not, plan officials have the fiduciary duty to understand how their service providers’ Web offerings match the competitions’.

It remains a critical challenge for financial services firms to recruit and retain more women, according to a recent survey from the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI).