A focus on retirement has been key recently, with a push for younger generations to begin investing into 401(k)s, along with recent calls to Congress to empower savings among employees. Employee Benefit News has remained on top of the coverage and has packaged it for you here.
The American Benefits Council introduced its strategic plans for retirement and health policies, providing 46 specific regulatory recommendations for Congress to consider in easing the burdens on employees, employers and government agencies.
Although the scars are still visible since the economy’s near-collapse, investors have the highest optimism today since 2007. However, many still don’t find themselves any better off than they were five years ago, meaning workers are still struggling to commit to deeper involvement in employer-sponsored retirement savings offerings – and leaving unused benefits on the table as a result.
Despite this past summer’s Supreme Court decision in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, which found that fiduciaries of employee stock ownership plans are subject to the same duty of prudence that applies to ERISA fiduciaries in general, companies with ESOPs and stock purchase plans are seeing an increase in plan assets and are using the plans as a retention tool.
Having an engaging 401(k) plan recordkeeper, partnered with innovative online educational tools, may provide a solution to piercing the Gen Y markets as more and more of the current employee base moves closer to retirement.
