As Pandemic Drags On, Don’t Let Clients Forget the Fundamentals
Advisers should watch out for unwitting partial plan terminations tied to layoffs and lasting damage to employees’ retirement readiness caused by hardship withdrawals.
Tag: Plan design
2021 Plan Sponsor of the Year Nominations Are Open
Do you work with, or know of, a plan sponsor that deserves recognition for going above and beyond? Consider nominating them for a 2021 PLANSPONSOR Plan Sponsor of the Year award.
Considerations When Constructing Plan Committees
Having an odd number of members is sensible, as is pursuing a committee that reflects the employee population’s demographics.
Four Things to Know About Changes to Employer Contributions
Advisers can play an important role in helping plan sponsors understand the options available to them, as well as the impact of making certain plan changes.
Record Low Unemployment Spotlights Benefits Generosity
Generous and well-designed employee benefits are even more essential when the unemployment rate dips well below 4%—and so is cultivating a sense of trust and inclusion among the workforce.
Plan Sponsors Calling on Advisers to Improve Participant Outcomes
“They are hiring advisers to understand how well their plan is functioning and how to improve it,” Jordan Burgess, with Fidelity Institutional Asset Management, tells PLANADVISER.
Defaults Play a Big Role in Savings Outcomes
They impact participation, contributions and asset allocation, according to a research paper supported by a grant from the Social Security Administration.
Learning from Asset Managers’ Defined Contribution Plans
Companies that help retirement plan sponsors with investments also provide benefits to their own employees; in some ways, assets managers’ plans resemble the broader marketplace, while in others they stand out.
Actions Individuals, Employers and Governments Can Take to Improve Retirement Readiness
Advisers can play a role by encouraging actions by plan sponsors and participants.
Plan Success Beyond the Usual Statistics
High-level averages are often used to talk about the retirement readiness of a given defined contribution plan population, but the numbers can be misleading when it comes to assessing real outcomes for individual employees.
PLANSPONSOR Survey Results Highlight Role of Advisers in Health Care Industry
Nearly 86% of not-for-profit health care entities reported that financial advice in some form is offered to their defined contribution plan participants, compared to 79.4% of for-profit entities.
House Ways and Means Committee Talks Retirement Reforms
A panel of expert witnesses from across the financial services domain discussed shortcomings and opportunities for improvement in the U.S. retirement savings system; they urged House members to embrace bipartisanship and commonsense solutions.
Plan Sponsors Have Questions About Dynamic Default Investments
Progressive plan design features take time to catch on, including the emerging “hybrid QDIA” approach that pairs TDFs and managed accounts; experts say plan sponsors are interested, but they remain unsure about the right way to design and deliver a dynamic default investment.
Strategies to Manage Retirement Plan Loans
Enshrining these in a well-crafted loan policy statement can help plan sponsor clients take control of leakage and excess early withdrawals; like any stated compliance policy, what is written must be followed.
Celebrating 40 Years of the 401(k)
...And discussing how it could be further strengthened
When Auto-Roth Accounts Make More Sense
Janus Henderson research suggests the vast majority of auto-enrollment programs fund only pre-tax accounts; this is despite the fact that for younger, lower-income employees, funding a Roth account may be a more appropriate long-term option.
Setting Defaults and Auto-Escalations Too Low May Undermine their Power
In addition, a person invested in a stable value fund versus someone invested in a target-date fund could end up with a balance as much as 59% lower, BlackRock says.
Fidelity Analysis Shows Advantage of Long-Term Savings
In the past 10 years, the average 401(k) balance has grown 87%, from $56,900 in the third quarter of 2008, Fidelity Investments reports.
Feature
Narrowing the Scope
Analyzing big data from the recordkeeper to measure plan and participant achievements
ERISA 404(c) Compliance Well Worth the Effort
Frederick Reish, partner in the Drinker Biddle & Reath Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice Group and Chair of the Financial Services ERISA Team, suggests a good way to think about ERISA Section 404(c) is as “a relatively inexpensive insurance policy.”