Benefits Think 4 retirement plan design trends to watch in 2015
Plan design plays a significant role in the success of a 401(k) plan, and there are opportunities for design to be catered to better suit employee needs and retirement objectives.
Financial planning
Women business owners, young entrepreneurs more likely to offer retirement help to employees
As retirement confidence among employees remains low, small business owners and their workforces may even be less prepared due to the scarcity of formal retirement education and established retirement savings plans to help this demographic.
Communicating, health adviser to retirement adviser
Knowing all sides of a clients benefits plan helps both retirement and health benefit consultants make better recommendations.
Interest rates spur growth in corporate pension liability
The nations largest corporate defined benefit pension plans continue to experience woes as their collective funding statuses dwindle due to unsavory interest rates.
Benefits Think 5 low-cost ways to make your 401(k) plan better
A relatively small number of easily fixable problems can make a big difference in many 401(k) plans. Check out this list from EBN's retirement blogger Robert Lawton to see if your 401(k) plan can be improved.
Robert C. Lawton
Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants
Benefits Think 3 considerations in choosing a QDIA
Amid todays rapidly changing benefits landscape, employers are increasingly called to become more informed plan fiduciaries overseeing decisions about their plans qualified default investment alternatives. Three main components hold particular importance to help employers make reasonable QDIA decisions and fulfill ERISA obligations.
IRS announces cost of living adjustments for qualified retirement plans
The IRS last week announced new adjustments for retirement plans, including for 401(k) deferrals, contributions and benefits, and the amount of compensation counted for plan purposes beginning in 2015. Heres what you and your employer clients need to know.
Boeing, The Hartford offer lump sums to reduce pension liabilities
As more and more employers analyze their ever-growing pension obligations, Boeing and Hartford Financial Services Group are the latest companies to use the lump-sum payment tactic to limit their liabilities.
Easing the burden of providing retiree health coverage
As active employees move into a retiree population, health care decision-making also changes. Some companies provide a subsidy to the retiree population for purchasing health care on their own, but the tracking of that subsidy and the associated premiums create stress on an already overworked HR department.
Advisers see greater employer interest in financial wellness
Benefit brokers say employers are more and more looking toward financial wellness programs to assist employees saddled with increased health care costs.
Benefits Think 6 ways 401(k) plan participants can make active management work for them
A passive portfolio management approach is appropriate for many 401(k) plan participants and individual investors. But indexing isnt right for everyone.
Robert C. Lawton
Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants
Easy steps to communicate complex retirement subject matter
Knowing the client, using the best medium and avoiding industry jargon are a few ways to discuss retirement plans with clients.
How to overcome common retirement census mistakes
Third-party administrators need to use a variety of methods to ensure employers supply the correct data.
IRS increases allowable 401(k) contribution levels
Thanks to new cost-of-living adjustments, the Internal Revenue Service is allowing the American workforce to save a bit more in their retirement plans next year.
What constitutes misuse of an adviser or other expert by a fiduciary?
Employer clients acting as the fiduciary of a benefit plan may often seek the advice of their trusted adviser. ERISA recognizes that need but also disallows the misuse of an expert. So what qualifies as misuse?
Benefits Think Market volatility: 5 things to tell 401(k) plan participants
Volatility has returned to the equity markets with a vengeance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fluctuated by hundreds of points on many recent trading days. During these times your 401(k) plan participants can become very nervous.
Robert C. Lawton
Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants
Benefits Think Why employees undervalue equity awards and how to fix it
With companies granting over $110 billion in equity each year to employees, the stakes are very high for employers to demonstrate a strong return on investment from their equity compensation plans. And yet, there appears to be a disconnect in how these companies and their employees perceive equity awards.
Post-PPA: Whats in store for plan sponsors
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 has helped to reduce costs and limit liabilities for multiemployer plans. But the landmark legislation will sunset at the end of the year, which has many stakeholders and consultants predicting future retirement uncertainty for the more than 10 million participants in multiemployer plans across the nation.
Edison case raises concerns about ERISA statute of limitation protections
The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear Tibble v. Edison International, a case in which the plaintiffs contend their ERISA plan fiduciaries breached their duty of prudence by offering higher-cost retail-class mutual funds to 401(k) plan participants, even though identical lower-cost institutional-class mutual funds were available.
Why retirement plan fiduciaries need to be more engaged
With more confusion swirling in the employer 401(k) market not to mention an American workforce with staggeringly low retirement confidence advisers and consultants recommend employers play a bigger role as a fiduciary when considering administration fees and investment education.