In Practice

This is the first in a series of eight columns, appearing the first Thursday of each month, by Matt Smith, managing director of retirement services with Russell Investment...

Overall participation in tax-favored retirement plans remained stable at 50% between 2000 and 2003, a participation rate slightly less than in 1997, according to a new report from...

A new white paper released by Franklin Templeton Bank & Trust provides guidance to advisers about using directed trust services to retain management of assets of affluent baby...

Although qualified annuity sales are increasing, most of them are coming from IRAs, not 401(k) distributions.

The Pension Protection Act (PPA) paves the way for more phased retirements, but firms must consider many issues in undertaking such policies, asserts a new Conference Board report.

The fund giant will instead offer a richer 401(k) match and an annual credit to a health savings plan.

Households that work with financial advisers are saving more and are on track to replace more income in retirement than those that do not.

The average 65-year-old couple needs an estimated $215,000 to cover health care costs in retirement, $15,000 more than was predicted last year, according to research by Fidelity Investments.

Younger participants are more likely to want advice about in choosing their investments, but those in the $50,000 and under income bracket are the most likely (37%) to...

Advisers who currently target small businesses – or who work with individual participants at businesses of any size – could see a major shift over the next decade,...

A new study offers powerful evidence on the importance of listening.

The main reasons millionaires turn to financial advisers are to get a recommendation from a trusted person, to reach a certain level of wealth, and to start planning...

Although conventional planning models often use replacement rates of 70% or 85%, a new study says that the vast majority of Americans are not coming close to achieving...

As retirement looms, products to help savings last come to the fore.

Independent advisers claim that new clients who previously worked with brokers lack proper planning documents.

More than half (58%) of workers participating in a 401(k) plan said they would like a salary increase over a higher employer matching contribution to the retirement plan.

Who makes the financial decisions in affluent households? Depends on who you ask.

Data from a new PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey shows that firms using an independent investment adviser (80%) to help them manage their plan are, on average, more likely to...

A provider search is often one of the most time consuming parts of a client relationship.

The future of retirement plans may lie in automated savings arrangements, but that can’t be the only means of improving participation and employee engagement.