Ted Godbout

U.S. Senate Clears Debt Limit Legislation for Biden, Averting Default

By Ted Godbout 6/2/2023

Acting with a sense of urgency to avoid a first-ever federal debt default, the U.S. Senate late June 1 approved legislation to suspend the federal debt limit until 2025, clearing the measure for presidential signature, expected today. The Senate vote on the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (H.R.... READ MORE

Debt Limit Catastrophe One Step Closer to Being Averted

By Ted Godbout 6/1/2023

Amid threats of the economy crashing and 401(k)s plummeting, the House of Representatives late May 31 approved legislation to suspend the federal debt limit until 2025. Facing a June 5 deadline to avoid a first-ever federal default if Congress does not act, the House approved the Fiscal... READ MORE

Employer Contributions Reach Record-High Levels: Fidelity

By Ted Godbout 6/1/2023

With U.S. employers adding one million jobs to the economy in the first quarter of 2023, Americans appear to be refocusing on investing in their future, according to Fidelity’s latest retirement trends analysis. Among other things, the firm reports in its Q1 2023 Retirement Analysis that 401(k)... READ MORE

Fear Not, Auto-Escalation Not Likely to Reduce Participation

By Ted Godbout 5/26/2023

While there’s much debate over the pros and cons of auto-features and whether participants need a nudge, the results of a new study suggest that plan sponsors can, in fact, boost “default escalators” in 401(k) plans without decreasing participation. The results arise from a new field study... READ MORE

Bipartisan Gig Worker Portable Benefit Pilot Program Reintroduced

By Ted Godbout 5/24/2023

With more than a third of the U.S. workforce said to be currently engaged in temporary, contract or on-demand work, a bipartisan group of senators has reintroduced legislation to test “innovative portable benefit designs” to help level the playing field for these workers who lack access to benefits... READ MORE

Half of Households at Risk of Lower Living Standards in Retirement

By Ted Godbout 5/22/2023

Retirement readiness remains a major challenge for many of today’s working-age households that may need to save more and/or work longer to improve their prospects for a secure retirement. That’s according to the Center for Retirement Research’s newly released National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI... READ MORE

Record Inflation Pushes 2024 HSA Limits Higher

By Ted Godbout 5/18/2023

With inflation running at record levels last year, the IRS provided a sizeable boost to the inflation-adjusted health savings account (HSA) limits for 2024, as determined under Section 223 of the Internal Revenue Code. The announcement came in Revenue Procedure 2023-23, released May 16. HSA... READ MORE

Two-Thirds of Small Businesses Do Not Offer Retirement Benefits: Fidelity

By Ted Godbout 5/17/2023

While they may not realize it, there is an opportunity for small employers to offer competitive retirement benefits, as only a third (34%) of small employers currently offering retirement savings to employees today, according to Fidelity Investment’s 2023 Small Business Retirement Index. Of those... READ MORE

New Fiduciary Rule, SECURE 2.0 Guidance Top Priorities: EBSA’s Gomez

By Ted Godbout 5/15/2023

Appearing at the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 2023 Spring Policy Forum on May 11, Lisa Gomez, Assistant Secretary for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), told attendees that the department is busy working on getting guidance out the door. On the retirement side, Gomez... READ MORE

401(k) Contributions up in Q1, But Mixed Bag for Other Stats

By Ted Godbout 5/12/2023

According to Bank of America’s latest 401(k) Participant Pulse report, there was some good news to offset the less favorable news amid ongoing economic headwinds. Notably, the firm’s first quarter, 2023 data shows that fewer participants took loans, but for higher amounts, while hardships... READ MORE

Common Misperceptions Persist for Not Offering a Retirement Plan

By Ted Godbout 5/10/2023

While the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 seek to make it easier for small business to offer a retirement plan, many employers that do not offer coverage still appear to be clinging to the same reasons for not doing so. According to a new survey report by the Transamerica Institute and its... READ MORE

Competitive Benefits Top Priority Among Small Business Owners

By Ted Godbout 5/10/2023

The impact of the pandemic over the last two years has prompted businesses of all sizes to reevaluate their benefit packages and small businesses are no exception. In fact, nearly all small business owners surveyed (93%) have re-evaluated their strategy and plan to make changes to their business... READ MORE

SECURE 2.0 a Step in Right Direction, But Participants Yearn for More

By Ted Godbout 4/28/2023

Various provisions under the SECURE 2.0 Act strongly resonate with employees amid considerable changes in retirement expectations, financial conditions and workforce demographics, but the findings of a new survey suggest that more can be done to promote retirement security. And even though nearly... READ MORE

Workers Believe it Will Take $1 Million to Retire Comfortably

By Ted Godbout 4/23/2023

A perceived comfortable retirement may be hard to reach for many working Americans, as most say it will take at least $1 million to do so, although most don’t expect to reach that number. According to findings from Schroders’ 2023 U.S. Retirement Survey of 2,000 U.S. investors nationwide,... READ MORE

Has the Switch to DC Plans Led to Larger Wealth Transfer Opportunities?

By Ted Godbout 4/23/2023

A new study contends that there is a growing opportunity for wealth transfers, not only among the wealthy but also among lower-asset households affected by the transition from defined benefit to defined contribution plans. In fact, Hearts & Wallets’ research finds that nearly two-thirds of U.... READ MORE

ARA Pushes for Additional Changes to VFCP Self-Correction Option

By Ted Godbout 4/20/2023

The American Retirement Association applauds the Department of Labor’s proposed addition of a self-correction option for delinquent participant contributions and loan repayments under the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) but contends that important clarifications are needed for plan... READ MORE

Long-Term Financial Worries Include Social Security, Economy, Saving Level

By Ted Godbout 4/17/2023

Most Americans do not think they can depend on Social Security for retirement income, adding to their worries about long-term financial stability, a new study from Allianz Life finds. According to the firm’s 2023 1Q Quarterly Market Perceptions Study, nearly three in four (74%) respondents do... READ MORE

Plan Sponsors Warm to Keeping Assets In-Plan

By Ted Godbout 4/14/2023

Plan sponsor interest in keeping retiree assets in their defined contribution plans is increasing, according to new research from Cerulli Associates based off surveys and conversations with plan sponsors, consultants and DCIO asset managers. More than half (54%) of 401(k) plan sponsors prefer to... READ MORE

Small Market Retirement Plan Coverage Predicted to Surge

By Ted Godbout 4/10/2023

Workplace benefit professionals who were surveyed on a wide range of employee benefits issues looking toward 2026 predict a massive increase in employer-provided defined contribution (DC) plan coverage, particularly in the smaller plans market. Indeed, most respondents foresee 88% of employers... READ MORE

Why Employers Can’t Afford to Overlook Employee ‘Care’

By Ted Godbout 4/10/2023

Feeling cared for at work is a key driver of employee holistic health and happiness, and not prioritizing it can cause major issues in the workplace, according to a new study. MetLife’s 21st annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study found that nearly half of employees (42%) don’t feel cared for by... READ MORE

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