Retirement education

Employees report increased confidence in retirement readiness with lifetime income options, but few utilize such plans when offered by employers. Advisers can help match interest with engagement.

Retirement account balances reached a record high $91,800 in the first quarter of 2015, and more than 1 million people increased the rate at which they are putting money aside for the future.

Three plan sponsors share their inventive – and sometimes controversial – strategies for getting employees more deeply involved in retirement savings.

It is safe to say that Ron Surz is passionate about retirement, particularly when it comes to target-date funds. Surz, president and CEO of San Clemente, Calif.-based Target Date Solutions, believes that too much risk is placed in TDFs, which have become the go-to default investment in many employer-sponsored retirement plans.

The funded status of the 100 largest corporate pensions dropped by $6 billion in March, increasing the deficit to $349 billion, according to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index.

For a decade, a new kind of mutual fund has been taking over Americans’ retirement portfolios. The target-date fund is designed for people with no knowledge of investing.

There is a unique opportunity in retiree health benefits, one that brings a potential windfall for advisers willing to embrace the market.

The reality is that monitoring your service providers is an essential component to fulfilling your fiduciary duty as an employer. The tangible tasks that you must take on, such as, reviewing performance and educating participants, are easily executed. The confusion lies in the intangibles.

Financial wellness is the new norm, and employers are more and more jumping on the bandwagon of getting employees better prepared for retirement.

Rep. Joe Crowley, D-NY, vice chair of the Democratic Caucus, unveiled a plan this week that would address the savings and retirement security crisis in America by giving families better ways to save for the future and retire with dignity.

Employee retirement confidences levels have risen to their highest since the recession. And although confidence levels have jumped in recent years, many are still expecting to work further into their retirement years to make up for any unpreparedness.

Generations X and Y prefer an adviser to give retirement information face-to-face rather than searching online, survey finds.

Financial experts say that people should try to replace 70%-80% of their current income in retirement, but current statistics suggest that employees need to make the right arrangements to do so.

Recently BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, announced that it would follow Fidelity and Federated in making changes to its money market fund offerings. These changes are in response to SEC reform rules announced during the summer of 2014, which will permit floating NAVs, redemption fees and liquidation windows in prime money market funds.

Commentary: More disclosures and transparency is not a bad thing, but how does this ruling truly help make things easier to understand and provide the leadership needed for retirement readiness, asks EBA columnist John Ludwig.

The Department of Labor finally revealed its proposed fiduciary standard rule on Tuesday after weeks of anticipation and speculation. The rule is intended to deter brokers from pushing “backdoor payments” and hidden fees in the products they recommend to clients.

The past year was not a good one for the top 100 corporate pensions, according to research by Towers Watson. Falling interest rates and increased liabilities from updated mortality assumptions combined in 2014 to eradicate most of the gains from the previous year, Towers Watson found. The average funded status of the Towers Watson Pension 100 fell from 89% to 81% in 2014, even though plan assets gained in value. One bright note was that plan sponsors…

After years of discussion, today the Department of Labor proposed a new rule altering the long-standing fiduciary standard and it was approved by the Office of Management and Budget. Controversial from their start in 2010, these new regulations have been framed as a way to help the middle-class avoid excessive fees and poor advice from financial professionals who do not already serve as a fiduciary.

On Tuesday, the Department of Labor released its much-anticipated rule proposal extending a fiduciary standard to thousands of brokers and advisers providing investment advice to clients on retirement accounts. As the days follow, check back for coverage and analysis of what to expect during the 75-day notice and comment period.

The much-anticipated rule that provides a new definition of who is a fiduciary was released by DOL this week to much fanfare. And while most people agree there won’t be much impact on plan sponsors, there are passionate groups on both sides of the aisle fighting for or against this new proposal.