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Defined Contribution Plans
When asked how many years they believe their retirement savings will last in retirement, a significant percentage of 401(k) plan participants indicate they have no idea, according to the results of a new survey.
Results from Schwab Retirement Plan Services’ 2020 401(k) Participant Survey of 1,000...
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While contributions to health savings accounts (HSAs) are still negligible compared with 401(k) plans, a new report suggests that the industry is expected to evolve during the next several years.
Employers’ focus on financial wellness and the increased involvement of retirement providers (...
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Few professionals have a bird’s eye view of 401(k) plans like that of an auditor. One such professional offers his observations regarding issues and concerns 401(k) plans face and need to address.
In “401(k) Plan Concerns—from the Auditor Perspective,” Bradley Bartels, a partner at Mann, Urrutia...
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Teresa Ghilarducci doesn’t give American employers—or advisors—much credit.
She recently penned an article in Forbes titled “Employers Can’t Provide Retirement Plans. Let’s Stop Pretending They Can.” The article’s premise is false on its face, of course. Employers[1] have long provided retirement...
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Given the far-reaching health, economic and workplace changes that have occurred so far during 2020, defined contribution plan participants have been remarkably disciplined. Recent studies have shown that despite these challenges—and amid market volatility—participants have been steadfast....
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The markets had their best August since 1986—and it was a pretty good month for the average 401(k) balance as well.
Temperatures and major U.S. stock indexes, notably the S&P 500, continued to rise. The latter not only enjoyed its fifth consecutive month of gains, but recorded seven record...
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Despite ongoing litigation, most 401(k) plan investment menus continue to include recordkeepers’ proprietary funds, but proprietary investments accounted for a smaller share of total 401(k) assets.
Drawing from the BrightScope/ICI Defined Contribution Plan Profile: A Close Look at 401(k) Plans...
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The Treasury Department in a fourth quarter update to its 2019–2020 Priority Guidance Plan reports on the progress it and the IRS have made in meeting the plans they set regarding projects during the period July 1, 2019-June 30, 2020.
The 2019-2020 Priority Guidance Plan contained 203 guidance...
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The IRS has provided some answers to questions concerning the small employer automatic enrollment credit, part-time vesting rules and other provisions under the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act).
IRS Notice 2020-68, issued Sept. 2, provides guidance on some...
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The IRS in Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2020-40 has expanded the situations in which the plan amendment deadline for discretionary amendments made to qualified pre-approved plans and 403(b) pre-approved plans may be extended.
Rev. Proc. 2020-40 modifies Section 15.05 of Rev. Proc. 2016-37 and...
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The new study from EBRI provides a unique perspective on the relative amount of assets held by those with both account types, allowing for a more accurate picture of the total retirement assets of Americans.
By combining the EBRI/ICI 401(k) Database of 27 million plan participants and the EBRI...
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The laws are constantly changing—and plan documents have to be updated to keep up. But if you miss a deadline, there’s a new, and easier, way to fix things.
Historically, the Voluntary Compliance Program (VCP) was the only way to handle a missed restatement—but that requires an IRS submission...
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Recently, a column in Roll Call titled “Biden retirement proposal would upend traditional 401(k) plans” claimed that the plan to “equalize” the incentives in 401(k) by ending such deductions and replacing them with flat tax credits for each dollar saved. That was, in turn, picked up by Forbes...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) plans to ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its approval to extend its collection of information to aid its effort to locate missing participants and beneficiaries and pay their benefits.
The PBGC intends to request that the OMB extend...
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I’ve always been just a bit paranoid about my personal data. All the more so because in a half dozen different circumstances over the past two decades, someone who had access to that data for legitimate purposes… lost it.
Those data breaches notwithstanding (and one did involve a 401(k) account)...
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The deadline to take advantage of certain relief provided by the IRS to plan participants and plan sponsors in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is approaching quickly.
The deadline for workplace retirement plan participants, IRA owners or their beneficiaries who received a required minimum...
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While numerous factors were in play during the second quarter, average retirement account balances experienced double-digit growth powered largely by positive stock market performance and steady investor behavior.
Fidelity Investments’ quarterly analysis of retirement savings trends finds...
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A new white paper finds that use of fixed income options in 401(k) plans has not kept pace with workplace trends.
Traditionally, fixed income investments have been used to reduce a portfolio’s overall volatility to an acceptable level without significantly reducing returns—but that objective...
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In a remarkably short period, an excessive fee suit involving proprietary funds has settled for what may be the largest monetary settlement among those cases to date.
The suit—filed on Feb. 15, 2019 by plaintiff (and former McKinsey plan participant) Tushar Bhatia against McKinsey and MIO (MIO...
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A 4½-year-old suit regarding the lack of a stable value alternative—where a judge once ruled that an $8.8 million settlement was insufficient—has been decided in favor of the plan fiduciaries.
According to U.S. District Judge John McBryde’s recitation of the case background, the American...
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