Retirement education

Top- rated states and localities have shortchanged payments to retirement plans as rallying stocks ease the funding pressure while services such as schools and crumbling infrastructure scream for resources.

Modestly higher equity markets in the first quarter of 2015 were not enough to offset the effects of lower interest rates, resulting in lower pension funding ratios among U.S. defined benefit plans.

Designing the ultimate defined contribution plan isn’t just about the investments chosen to be in the plan. It is about strategy, a company’s mission and core values and the demographics of the workers being served by the plan.

Pension and benefits administrators are needed more than ever to both guide and direct their employees towards healthy retirement savings and lifestyles.

Employers are increasing the amount of their retirement plan contributions, a move industry experts say has also led to increased account balances and plan engagement.

Neuroeconomics is a combination of economics, neuroscience and psychology and it can affect how employees make investment decisions in their 401(k) plan.

Nobody is sure what the economy will do in 2015, but investment fund managers remain positive about investments in equities and alternative assets over the long-term.

Political and financial pundits alike have talked about a retirement gap or even crisis for years. But as the demographic skews older the crisis is becoming more real.

As 403(b) plans look more like 401(k)s, plan sponsors are turning to advisers to help with plan design and administration.

Because employees aren't actively engaging in their retirement plans on a regular bases, a slight uptick has been seen in employers including managed account options in their workplace 401(k) and 403(b) plans.

Workers and retirees know what they should be doing to prepare for retirement but when it comes to action, neither group is prepared.

Now, more than ever, the retirement plan services industry is placing a greater emphasis on in-plan guaranteed income solutions to help employees achieve better retirement outcomes.

Defined contribution plans have become one of the fastest-growing segments of the retirement industry, representing $7 trillion of the $24 trillion in retirement system assets in 2014, and while private companies have been at the forefront of the change, but government entities are following suit, which means DC plans will become even more important in the years ahead.

You may have noticed that there's a new trend sweeping the financial services industry: robo-advisers. These services use algorithms to automate investing, manage individual portfolios and provide financial guidance.

Commentary: Three reasons Individual contracts are incompatible with ERISA plans and how to handle it, according to The Principal’s Aaron Friedman.

There’s room to grow in the investment-only variable annuity space, and educated advisers are the key.

Employers may want to take note of the qualifying longevity annuity contract rules that were put in place last year under the required minimum distribution rules of the Internal Revenue Code.

Continued lawsuits over excessive 401(k) fees are on track to force providers to change the way they deliver products and end a practice that appears to be a “showcase of impropriety.”

Commentary: There isn't one right answer to what a plan should look like, but there’s no harm in asking around to see what other employers consider reasonable.

The amount of money socked away in retirement accounts jumped up 6% with U.S. retirement assets totaling nearly $25 trillion at the end of December 2014.