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Defined Contribution Plans
Concerns about the Omicron variant—and possible responses to it—capped off a volatile month for U.S. stock markets—and it made for a bumpy ride for the average 401(k) as well.
The Dow dropped 3.7% in November, while the S&P 500 shed 0.8% and the NASDAQ managed to eke out a 0.25% gain. On the...
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While it’s the celebration following a successful harvest held by the Pilgrims and members of the Wampanoag tribe in 1621 that provides most of the imagery around the holiday, Thanksgiving didn’t become a national observance until much later.
Incredibly it wasn’t marked as a national observance...
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The number of Gen Z investors across the firm’s retirement platform nearly doubled from a year ago, according to Fidelity’s third quarter retirement analysis, reaching a record 1.4 million.
And while it’s still early in their careers, Fidelity’s data suggests that Gen Zers (born between 1997-2012...
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On Jan. 1, 2021, Section 112 of the Setting Every Community up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act became effective. That spelled big change for certain long-term, part-time (LTPT) employees, since that section of the SECURE Act requires that they be given the opportunity to make salary...
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Several years ago, we had in mind that it would be fun to get an aquarium for our home, and (even) I got excited at the prospects of filling it with a variety of all kinds and sizes of exotic fish.
Sadly, those hopes were dashed when I discovered that , despite the massive displays of what...
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Bipartisan retirement security legislation that shares some overlap with the SECURE Act 2.0—and is supported by the American Retirement Association—has been approved by a key House committee.
The House Education and Labor Committee on Nov. 10 approved the Retirement Improvement and Savings...
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The chairman and ranking member of the House Education and Labor Committee have introduced—and plan to act on—bipartisan legislation that shares some overlap with SECURE Act 2.0.
The Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement (RISE) Act (H.R. 5891) was introduced Nov. 5 by committee Chairman...
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Traditionally, October has been a scary month for the markets—so how did they—and the average 401(k) balance—fare this year?
People tend to remember the October “crashes,” notably the stock market crash in 1929, and more recently “Black Monday” in 1987. Those recollections have gone so far as to...
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The CalSavers Retirement Savings Board has issued a Notification of Proposed Emergency Regulation Action to readopt regulations that took effect earlier in 2021.
The Board adopted those emergency regulations to:
amend the default investment option;
reduce the minimum contribution amounts for...
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Sometimes the motivations of those attacking the 401(k) are pretty obvious.
A recent article by a Maurie Backman at the Motley Fool titled, “Why a 401(k) isn’t the wonderful savings tool you think it is.” I tried to ignore it when it first (to my eyes) appeared on Forbes (which seems to have a...
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A federal judge has put a half dozen 401(k) excessive fee suits on hold pending a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that ”will likely clarify the pleading requirements for ERISA breach of fiduciary claims in cases such as this…”
That was the determination of Judge William C. Griesbach...
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My wife Conni and I have lurked in the netherworld of retirement plan administration for decades now, working on those things nobody ever sees. One of the ways we explain what we do to friends and family is with a story about their own 401(k) and 403(b) plans. What we tell them is that when they go...
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While we tend to remember October’s tumbles, it’s September that tends to be the problem for U.S. stock markets. What happened to the average 401(k) this time?
Sure enough, despite a long stretch of gains for the stock market this year, September turned out to be a bit of a downer; the S&P 500...
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Retirement assets in the United States grew in the second quarter of 2021, says a recently released report.
According to the Investment Company Institute (ICI), retirement assets comprised 33% of all household assets in the United States. At the end of the second quarter, U.S. retirement assets...
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Each generation experiences life through the prism of its own experiences—creating a unique frame of reference that can itself be a language barrier in communication.
Indeed, I have for years enjoyed checking out what was once called the Beloit College Mindset List (a couple of years back...
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This is a pretty exciting time in the defined contribution plan marketplace. Years of work from a number of different quarters seem to be finally beginning to coalesce around the notion of sanely “decumulating” assets from DC plans. I wonder if a measure of all this may be the growing catalog of...
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Retirement savings—in an IRA, a 401(k) plan, or a defined benefit plan—is, in the end, a project that involves turning present income, via savings and investment, into future income. As such, it inevitably involves the capital markets. And, indeed, it is often hard to sort out whether any...
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While many continue to debate the pros and cons of target date funds, one thing appears certain: the prevalence of TDFs in 401(k) plans has grown substantially since enactment of the Pension Protection Act of 2006.
A new report from EBRI and ICI details how both the percentage of 401(k) plans...
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While providing communications on retirement readiness can significantly improve participant engagement, the use of fear as a behavioral tool may be a better way to rouse unengaged participants.
That was the conclusion from a recent study by the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment...
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The increased prevalence of defined contribution plans has heightened the importance of portability and the rules and circumstances affecting it, says a recent analysis that addresses common questions that arise as a result.
In “In-Plan Guaranteed Lifetime Income: Debunking Portability Myths,”...
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