Retirement benefits

Seeking an alternative to the DOL's controversial proposed fiduciary rule, some members of Congress are drafting their own proposal that would establish rules for advisers working with savers and plans without the regulatory burdens and litigation risks that critics see in the DOL's plan.

Under new final regulations, which take effect Jan. 1, 2016, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation substantially reduced the reporting requirements for pension plan administrators, sponsors and contributing employers.

Commentary: There are a lot of misconceptions about retirement plans that may keep employees from enrolling. Chad Parks shares are some ways to help businesses navigate these often jargon-heavy waters.

Commentary: This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., which has vital implications for employee benefit plans — and for future attempts to impose state-specific regimes to gather health data from those plans.

Commentary: Auto-enrollment, codified in law by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, was drafted with the best of intentions — to increase Americans’ retirement savings — but it has had the unintended consequence of impairing plan effectiveness.

Commentary: The most important element in personal investing, including 401(k) investing, is an investor's understanding of his/her risk tolerance. Virtually all negative investor outcomes spring from a lack of understanding an employee has about his/her ability to bear risk.

EBA Advisers of the Year, as well as other industry insiders, share their insight on some of the major issues employee benefit brokers face. Take a look as these experts reflect on everything from the Cadillac tax to benefits technology to voluntary products.

As LIMRA celebrates 100 years in the industry in 2016, the association will renew its focus on retirement research, education and training and continue to evaluate the impact of the DOL’s pending fiduciary rule.

Commentary: The consequences of moving away from simpler, less sophisticated mortality improvement scales that change infrequently in favor of scales that depend heavily on recent data.

Betterment, Blooom and Captain401 bring new choices to the 401(k) investment advice space. Are they a good fit for your organization?

Betterment, Blooom and Captain401 bring new choices to the 401(k) investment advice space. Are they a good fit for your organization?

Employees’ financial circumstances are unique, and an employer’s retirement plan must prepare to meet those different needs. Here are five questions that employers and their advisers must have strong answers to in order to help employees save for the future.

Canadian institutional money manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec sets its sights on the U.S. market with its new infrastructure investment model, CDPQ Infra.

Commentary: A former Intel Corporation employee is suing the company for allegedly breaching its fiduciary responsibilities by investing employees’ retirement money in “risky and high-cost” hedge funds and private equity funds.

Employee benefit departments are perceived by some as the “soft underbelly” in the world of corporate hacking targets, according to Adam Solander, a member of law firm Epstein Becker Green.

401(k) and other defined contribution plan sponsors report high participation rates by millennials; however, millennials with student loan debt are saving at a lower rate.

Fee disclosure regulations, the DOL’s proposed fiduciary rule and lawsuits related to 401(k) fees have heightened both plan sponsors’ and plan participants’ awareness of the costs of 401(k) plans.

The NFL and the NFL Players Association work together to build a comprehensive wellness program that helps retired football players better transition into a life without football, both financially and emotionally.

Commentary: While illiteracy is a source of embarrassment for people,” innumeracy” is often a source of pride. A significant number of people believe the lottery is their best strategy for accumulating a substantial nest egg, and this is a problem, says The Principal’s Aaron Friedman.

Many women contribute to their workplace retirement plans, but are also are very concerned about not being able to retire when and how they want to, implying that they may not be saving enough to feel secure about reaching their retirement goals.