Fiduciary rule could impact brokers the most
Generalists and small-market plan sponsors are likely to be the most negatively affected, according to a retirement conference panel.
Retirement education
The retirement conversation has to change
Retirement relates to all other parts of the financial pie, and thats the conversation advisers should be having with clients.
Financial stress carries over into retirement
Women tend to stress out more than men when it comes to retirement, but they also report more positive experiences in retirement.
Benefits Think Washington: A model approach to improving retirement savings?
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 Principals Aaron Friedman.
Aaron Friedman
Principal Financial Group
New benefits help employees shed their debt weight
Low-cost lending and credit-establishment services emerge as a new benefit to help employees make better financial decisions.
Benefits Think Why plan sponsors should support harmonization of fiduciary regulations
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.
Robert C. Lawton
Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants
Proactive financial habits can guarantee early retirement success
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.
Helping employers choose qualified default investments
Fiduciary responsibility requires the careful selection of default retirement investments. Benefit advisers can add value with knowledgeable advice on qualified default investment alternatives, including through the use of selection tools.
Set-it-and-forget-it prevails in worker retirement accounts
Although 401(k) plan participation is increasing, employees are not actively managing their accounts.
Employers must instill importance of savings to Gen Xers
Suffocating under large loans and with little savings, the majority Gen Xers admit being bogged down with uncertainty when planning for retirement.
Retirement-readiness focus of new provider ranking
Trust and education are some of the more favorable characteristics sought in retirement plan providers, as well as key drivers to increasing employee engagement. However, that education is lacking, as most employees have a poor understanding of retirement language.
Benefits Think How auto-enrollment can be enhanced with auto-portability
The surge of small 401(k) account balances is the result of a perfect storm increasing rates of adoption for automatic enrollment combined with the high frequency of job changes observed in todays mobile workforce.
Spencer Williams
Portability Services Network and Retirement Clearinghouse
The silver lining in 401(k) Supreme Court decision
The recent Supreme Court decision in Tibble v. Edison, though largely favorable to plaintiffs, does contain one silver lining for plan sponsors.
Mobile apps keep retirement info top of mind
If your retirement plan provider hasnt yet entered the mobile app market, you could be missing out on an important opportunity to educate your 401(k) plan members.
Lessons retirement plan sponsors can take from Tibble decision
To avoid breach of fiduciary duty claims in the future, retirement plan sponsors need to reexamine the investment policy statement for their 401(k) plans to make sure they are doing enough to make sure workers retirement funds are invested in the lowest fee and best investments possible.
Benefits Think SCOTUS stating the obvious in Tibble ruling
Although legal experts are unanimously proclaiming that SCOTUS' ruling in Tibble will significantly expand 401(k) plan litigation, one expert shares his doubts.
Robert C. Lawton
Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants
Experts: Look to state legislators to spur auto IRA growth
Theres no surprise retirement readiness is a top concern among small employers, with their employees are most at risk a conversation that took center stage when President Barack Obama unveiled the MyRA initiative for employers last year.
SCOTUS decision opens door to more 401(k) lawsuits
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision Monday that could have far-reaching implications for how long a retirement plan participant has to sue an employer for breach of fiduciary duty in a 401(k) plan.
Bipartisan bill promotes lifetime income illustrations on retirement plan statements
A bipartisan bill recently introduced in the House and Senate would require employer-sponsored retirement plans to provide participants with an estimate of how much lifetime income they could expect from their current savings.
Weighing the real costs of retirement-age employees
If employees are not well prepared for retirement it should be a major concern for both employees and their employers, experts say.