Retirement benefits

Significant amounts of participant balances are leaking out of 401(k) plans and not being replenished, with potentially disastrous results.

Some baby boomers are carrying too much risk in their retirement portfolios because of the stock market’s rapid rise over the past five years.

While states are starting to realize they need to step up and help private sector employers better prepare their employees for retirement, Americans continue to fall short in meeting their economic needs in retirement.

Commentary: If you ask people how they would make decisions today while working, most would tell you they can only make an educated guess or seek advice from financial professionals. Imagine how disconcerting this is when they no longer work and earn paychecks.

When does it make sense to choose a custom target-date strategy instead of an off-the-shelf menu? It’s a complicated question with no easy answer.

Commentary: Adopting a new approach to participant communications that factors in the unique characteristics of each generation, as well as the specific needs and preferences of each individual, is key to building and sustaining business.

Workplace benefit plans are key part of employees’ future financial success but the majority of employers don’t think their employees value the benefits that are offered.

While a majority of both public and private employees have access to retirement plans, new research points to major differences in the number of those who actually participate.

U.S. working adults who seek the help of an adviser are more likely to describe themselves as savers and have less debt than those without an adviser.

Commentary: Stretching a match has strong appeal for companies that have identified a retirement benefit philosophy that prioritizes the ability of its employees to retire with the right replacement ratio.

More and more employers are looking to ensure the retirement readiness and financial wellbeing of their employees, as financial stress has shown to make a significant impact on both the physical well-being of employees and their workplace productivity.

Commentary: Bloviating terms have no meaning to plan participants, who simply want to know if their pensions will be delivered as promised.

Fee disclosure rules may have helped bring 401(k) fees down, but plan sponsors can still do more to ensure they – and their employees – aren’t paying too much.

Commentary: Even though much has changed in the last 10 years, we may still describe the 403(b) market as “wild,” says The Principal’s Aaron Friedman.

Commentary: Many safe harbor IRAs don’t live up to their name and could leave sponsors with unexpected fiduciary liability.

Many believe the DOL has gone about its fiduciary rule-making in the wrong way and fear the rules, as proposed, will do more harm than good.

Industry trade groups and associations flooded the DOL with suggested amendments and revisions to its proposed fiduciary rule, ahead of the July 21 deadline for comments.

Traditional IRA investors showed little reaction to the economic downturn in 2007.

Higher PBGC premiums and a volatile market are catalysts for risk management in DB plans.

Increasingly, employers are expanding wellness programs to include financial guidance. But do these programs go far enough?