Retirement

Retirement advisers can protect their book of business by redefining their service model and partnering with specialists.

Plan participants should review a full market cycle, index efficient asset classes and eliminate closet indexers.

Understanding participant needs means having the courage to directly ask what topics are the most pressing, and then address them.

Missing required 401(k) minimum distributions are subject to a penalty equal to half the amount that should have been taken.

Many claims filed by former employees have a very low chance of success, but that does not eliminate the need for the employer to put in the time and money to fight them.

In order to avoid an audit, pension planners should conduct periodic audits for hard-to-find former employees.

Although the current year has been good for participants, many workers are not investing in a retirement plan.

Money worries continue to plague employees but executives struggle to create plans that address workers’ fiscal woes.

Employers are relieved that plans are left unscathed, but insiders are still keeping a sharp eye on the impact of deduction for pass-through entities.