Financial planning

With strategic federal-level assistance for retirement still lagging, states including Illinois, California and Oregon have stepped in with their own automatic IRA plans to boost employee savings.

Market timing and frequent trades within 401(k) plan mutual funds seem to be a thing of the past, according to the Government Accountability Office.

As participants age and their retirement investment requirements become less easily satisfied by cookie-cutter target date funds, the use of managed accounts as qualified default investment alternatives in 401(k) plans may grow.

When employers are talking to employees about retirement readiness, Social Security benefits should figure into the conversation, particularly for those nearing retirement.

Accounting for the needs of multiple generations in a financial wellness program can seem overwhelming.

Many employees may not be aware they have the option of a Roth 401(k), and those who do often don't have any idea which to pick -- the traditional 401(k) or the Roth 401(k).

Commentary: As the boomer generation moves further into traditional retirement years, evolving employee expectations are altering the benefits landscape more significantly than at any other time in recent history.

While employers define the topic in different ways, most are focused solely on the physical.

Participation in employer-sponsored 401(k) plans has slowly crept up over the past decade, in large part because of actions taken by plan sponsors.

Commentary: If the objective of the Chamber of Commerce’s study on the DOL’s proposed fiduciary rules was to scare small business owners, clearly it succeeded. But it certainly failed on another level.

Small businesses will pay a big price if the Department of Labor’s proposed changes to the fiduciary rules go into effect, says the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Lower income employees present a particular challenge to employers as they seek to get a handle on managing their health plans.

While employers may recognize that the amount of time employees will spend in retirement is growing, people around the world fail to reflect this trend in their long-term financial planning.

Women tend to stress out more than men when it comes to retirement, but they also report more positive experiences in retirement.

Commentary: When talking about the financial security of all Americans, playing politics is unfortunate. Ideologue mentality prevents meaningful dialogue and instead keeps kicking the can down the road, says The Principal’s Aaron Friedman.

Powers granted to shareholders to vote down pay packages for the CEO and other top executives by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act appear to be driving some change in executives’ “golden parachute” protections.

Although they still amount to little more than a blip on the radar screen, income guarantee arrangements incorporated into defined contribution plans are growing rapidly in popularity.

Low-cost lending and credit-establishment services emerge as a new benefit to help employees make better financial decisions.

When the recently proposed fiduciary rules are finalized there will likely continue to be significant differences between how Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) and brokers interact with their retirement plan clients from a fiduciary standpoint.

Many assume that a wealthy upbringing is essential for an early retirement, but recent studies show those who plan to retire early were no more likely to describe their family growing up as wealthy/affluent, or financially comfortable, than people who planned to stay in the workforce longer.