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COVID-19
Loans to pay for an education: an investment in the future, but also a drag on it. Research and recent insights suggest that while loans help fund steps intended to improve one’s position, in some ways they can threaten future security by affecting retirement saving. It’s a debt whose effects...
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A new study reviews data from two databases[1] to see how (if?) retirement expectations have been impacted by the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The research—titled “Retirement Expectations vs. Reality: Factors that Impact Retirement Decisions” and authored by Liu, Zhikun Liu, David...
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There was a LOT going on this year — and you rewarded our hard work in bringing you the latest news and trends by clicking, sharing, and occasionally commenting on our content. What were the top five clicked-on stories of 2022?
Oddly, the fifth-most clicked on story of 2022 — was actually written...
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These are bracing times for retirement savers, and two recent reports offer a window into tensions savers feel and risks plan sponsors perceive and anticipate.
Economic uncertainty can breed slower progress in saving for retirement or even regression, LIMRA suggests. Even before the current...
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COVID may have some lasting effects, but changed expectations concerning retirement are not among them, said an expert panel in a recent webinar.
In “Staying Optimistic: Older Americans’ Retirement Expectations Remain Uninterrupted Despite COVID-19 Impact,” a Sept. 15 webinar held by the Employee...
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It’s hard to believe that just two years ago many of us went into our places of work, packed up, and went home for what most thought would be a week, maybe two—and wound up being a lot more than that.
In March 2020, my wife and I had just returned from a funeral in the Boston area. While the worst...
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The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has released an updated version of its annual report on traditional and Roth IRAs. The CRS treats it as a primer that explains the accounts and the laws and regulations governing them, with new information added to account for developments since the last...
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The pandemic has affected the way many Americans are able to save for retirement, with surprising disparities among age groups, gender and even geographic areas, new survey results show.
Nearly one in five Americans (17%) say they are saving less money for retirement due to the pandemic,...
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Findings from the Society of Actuaries’ latest biennial survey examining the retirement risks by those nearing retirement and those already retired reveals significant differences in how the pandemic affected the two groups.
“The impact of this crisis is complicated because while it caused...
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I’ve been writing a weekly column (and then some) for more than two decades now. Some are easier to write (and read)—and some hold up better (and longer) than others. These are some of my (and perhaps your) favorites from 2021.
Let me know what you think in the comments below… particularly if I...
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The IRS has shed light on whether rehiring a retiree causes that retirement to not be considered a bona fide retirement and on in-service distributions to people who are still working.
The IRS provided this information by adding frequently asked questions (FAQs) to those it provides concerning...
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Halloween is the time of year when one’s thoughts turn to trick-or-treat, ghosts and goblins, and things that go bump in the night—and, for plan sponsors, and those who support them, a good time to think about the things that give us pause—that cause a chill to run down our spine…
Things like…...
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The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) has released a report that shows that retirement plans are growing by all measures: number of plans, participants, assets, contributions and disbursements.
The data is drawn from Form 5500 Series reports for plan years...
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The IRS has updated the questions and answers in which it provides information regarding COVID-related relief for retirement plans and IRAs.
The IRS makes the Q&A available in accordance with relief contained in Section 2202 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act...
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The American Retirement Association (ARA) has called on the IRS to make its temporary relief from the physical presence requirement for spousal consents permanent.
In a Sept. 30 letter, the ARA and 15 other organizations tell the IRS that they “appreciate the relief and extensions the Service...
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There have been many changes in the last year in the rules governing distributions, rollovers, loans and more. A workshop in the recent NTSA Summit offered a detailed look at those changes.
In “Navigating the New Minefield of Distributions, Repayments/Rollovers, & Loans,” Susan Jennings, an...
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The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act was enacted on the cusp of 2020—and before the dust even settled, new guidance and additional measures were enacted. In an ASPPA webcast, an industry expert looked at some key considerations for designed-based safe harbor 401(k...
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If there’s one good thing to come from the pandemic, it’s that Millennials and Generation Z apparently are more focused on saving for retirement, according to new research.
Findings from a new Voya survey reveal that nearly half (41%) of Millennials have been negatively affected financially by...
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What a difference a year makes.
Business practices had to change on a dime as the tidal wave of COVID-19 swept the familiar out of its way—and with little or perhaps even no notice or time to beta test.
Business as usual in the financial services industry “came to a screeching halt” as business...
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The IRS on June 24 announced that it is extending for a year temporary relief from the physical presence requirement for participant elections that must be witnessed by a plan representative or a notary public. The relief comes in Notice 2021-40 and is in response to the continuing COVID-19...
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