MIT, Yale, NYU sued over retirement plan fees: Retirement Scan

Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.

MIT, NYU, Yale sued over retirement plan fees
Lawsuits were filed against Yale University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and New York University after the institutions allegedly made their employees pay excessive fees for retirement plans, according to The Wall Street Journal. The suits, which highlight 403(b) retirement plans, claim the universities failed to follow the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 because retail mutual funds were stocked in their investment menus instead of lower-cost individual versions of the same investments. There have been other court cases recently filed against companies regarding their own mutual funds in their 401(k) plans. Fueling this trend, according to experts quoted in the article, is a handful of multimillion-dollar settlements in 401(k) fee cases by companies such as Boeing and Lockheed, as well as a Supreme Court decision (Tibble v. Edison), which put retirement plans on notice that they have a continuing duty to monitor plan investments, including fees.

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How much of my income will Social Security replace?
Social Security is a valuable retirement benefit but there's the ever-present question concerning how much of a client's pre-retirement income the federal program will replace, according to an article in Money. And that, of course, will affect how much money they need to put aside to balance the Social Security income they'll receive, according to an article in Money. The amount Social Security provides may indeed be less than it once was, according to experts quoted in the story. The formulas used to determine Social Security benefits are slowly diminishing the program’s payout per-person, which indicates that Americans will need to work longer, save more, begin retirement savings earlier and delay benefit claims as long as possible.

A retirement checklist for older workers
Clients seeking to retire within the next few years should ensure they first pay off any high-interest debts, including credit card bills, to avoid reducing their retirement nest egg and have more cash to save, according to this article on personal finance website Motley Fool. Future retirees are also advised to learn more about Medicare, its premiums and costs and how it compares to other existing insurance plans before enrolling. Long-term care plans should also be carefully considered before retirement in order to plan accordingly, as well as the possibility of part-time work to augment retirement income.

No will or estate plan? Big problem for clients and their heirs
It is important for all retirees to have a will or an estate plan even if they aren't rich, according to this article on CNBC. State court will have to decide on their assets and on who their childrens' guardian will become if they die without a will. Beneficiaries for individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans, life insurance policies and regular bank accounts should be updated when clients go through different milestones in life.

Retirees need to forget Clinton and Trump when it comes to their portfolios
Retirees should not be concerned about who wins the presidential election as far as their investments are concerned, as history has shown that politically driven stock fluctuations only last for short periods, according to MarketWatch. The S&P 500, which declined 5% after President Barrack Obama's reelection, normalized after one week, while President George W. Bush's radical policy decisions caused some volatility but led to five years of market growth. In short, the fundamentals of the country's $18 trillion economy can be expected to eventually minimize volatility regardless of how the markets react to the political climate in November.

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