Retirement benefits

Those who operate a retirement plan face significant potential liability and risk, cautions a new Lockton report.

Even though 68% of workers are saving for retirement, nearly half (46%) have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, and 50% are not confident they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement, a survey by the Employee Benefits Research Institute found.

A majority of Americans find retirement planning confusing and want additional help, a study by the ING Retirement Research Institute conducted by the Boston Consulting Group found.

The decline in plan sponsor appetite to change recordkeepers has dropped at a steady rate, not in spikes, which makes it likely that we will not see a dramatic increase any time soon. Meanwhile, many of the larger, more established recordkeepers are having record years; that means the rich keep getting richer while the rest are suffering.

Without delving too deeply into philosophy, it is probably safe to say that some people are compelled to do the right thing only because of the fear of punishment. As a young child, if I had the opportunity to take an extra cookie and not get caught, I may very well have taken full advantage of the situation. However, more often than not, the fear of getting caught with my hand in the cookie jar prevented me from doing it.

From analyzing the developing definition of fiduciary to discussing the best ways for advisers to differentiate themselves from the competition, the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries' "10th anniversary 401(k) SUMMIT" gave more than 950 attendees plenty of tricks of the trade to improve their business and stay informed on industry developments. Held March 6-8 in Las Vegas, the SUMMIT drew a range of retirement advisers, recordkeepers, plan administrators and others from across the country.

Standard & Poor's, the world's leading index provider and publisher of the widely followed Standard & Poor's Index Versus Active Fund scorecard series, has launched the industry's first comprehensive, periodic scorecard for target-date mutual funds. The S&P Indices Target-Date Scorecard provides performance comparisons, equal- and asset-weighted peer averages, and volatility comparisons for U.S. target-date funds versus their relative S&P Target-Date Index.

Insurance companies and investment firms offering retirement services to companies large and small are learning that attention to detail and improved communication with the plan sponsors and, indirectly, plan participants can dramatically improve their customer retention and satisfaction rates.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s retirement services unit is generating significant new business, much of it from existing clients of the bank.

American workers exited 2010 with more than $10.2 trillion invested in employer-sponsored retirement plans, up10% from the $9.3 trillion in play at the close of 2009, according to a new report from Chicago-based investor consultant Spectrem Group.

With regulatory reform bringing a wave of changes to defined contribution plans, retirement plan advisers need to be even more conversant in the ins and outs of legislative requirements and other complexities. Which is why BlackRock is beefing up its commitment to advisers who work with these retirement plans.

Employees improved all areas of their personal finances last year, according to a study by El Segundo, Calif.-based Financial Finesse, but many are concerned they haven't saved enough to retire.

Most Americans still aren't saving anywhere near enough money to afford the dignified retirement they all claim is so important to them. Even worse, most don't have any idea exactly how much they'll need if they were to begin saving today for their golden years.

The barometer is falling when it comes to how well companies are helping employees focus on their retirement income as well as retirement savings. In a new report on Fortune 1000 companies, MetLife’s inaugural Qualified Retirement Plan Barometer assigned a score across all plan types of 59 out of a possible 100. The higher the barometer, the stronger the overall culture of retirement income. While individual scores vary, the companies that offer broad access to defined benefit and defined contribution plans outpace plan sponsors who offer only a DC plan or incidental access to a DB plan as well as a DC plan.

Target-date funds became the leading default investment option for auto-enrolled retirement plans for a reason: The simplicity of an age-appropriate, asset allocation strategy that grew more conservative as plan participants edged closer to retirement age.

Could a U.S. Department of Labor plan to broaden the definition of a fiduciary for the purpose of giving investment advice undermine the level of service that producers offer their employer clients?

Fiduciary concerns ranked high on the list of hot topics at this week’s American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries annual summit in Las Vegas, Nevada.

From analyzing the developing definition of fiduciary to discussing the best ways for advisers to differentiate themselves from the competition, the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries 10th anniversary 401(k) SUMMIT gave more than 950 attendees plenty of tricks of the trade to improve their business and stay informed on industry developments.

When employers present employees with an easy, one-click option to enroll in or make a contribution change to their 401(k) plan during the annual health benefits process, the result is significant increases in 401(k) participation.

Major brokerage firms are taking different tacks in preparing brokers for expected new rules from the Department of Labor that will constrict their ability to advise companies on retirement plans.