Talking Points
2020 Contribution and Benefit Limits
Distribution of Social Security Claiming Ages, by Gender
Source: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
What’s in a Financial Plan?
Illiquidity of Home Equity
Reverse mortgages will likely be the most useful retirement income vehicle for people with wealth concentrated in residential real estate, according to Wade Pfau, professor of retirement income at The American College of Financial Services
The Uncashed Check Problem
Missing participants are a familiar issue for plan sponsors, who must ensure distributions get made. But what about unresponsive participants, who receive their checks but don’t cash them—especially problematic when distributions are automatic? IRS Revenue Ruling 2019-19 provides 401(k) plan administrators with guidance on how to report and stop such auto-distributions.
SPARK Institute conducted a member survey this year to study the extent of the problem. The 10 firms participating issued over 4 million checks in 2017. Of those, about 185,500 (4.5%), having a value of $47 million, went uncashed.
| Uncashed Amount | No. of Checks | Total Dollar Value | Percentage |
| >$100,000 | 37 | $5,811,529 | 0.02% |
| >$5,000 – $100,000 | 1,326 | $21,615,634 | 0.72% |
| >$1,000 – $5,000 | 2,720 | $6,198,042 | 1.46% |
| $100 – $1,000 | 36,766 | $11,534,164 | 19.82% |
| <$100 | 144,669 | $1,877,102 | 77.98% |
Record Year Likely for M&As
The third-quarter value of advisory and wealth management firm merger and acquisition deals is nearly triple the value as at Q3 2018, say PwC analysts. They say a record year remains likely.
The Benefits of Outsourcing
According to AssetMark study “The Power of Outsourcing Investment Management,” out of 700-plus advisers…
Advisers Help Seniors Avoid Financial Abuse
Just 16% of seniors use a financial adviser to help them manage their money. But the benefits—such as potentially being protected from financial scams—are significant:
