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Defined Contribution Plans
Giving employees the opportunity to manage how their 401(k) funds are invested is one way to help them better integrate their retirement savings efforts into their overall investment strategy. But a recent blog entry reminds that there are fiduciary considerations associated with offering actively...
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The belle of the retirement plan participation ball is auto enrollment. And a potent tool it is. But a recent article suggests it may not only be an elixir — it also may cause a delayed hangover.
In “Why Automating Retirement Savings May Not Be Enough,” an article appearing in Psychology Today,”...
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Conventional wisdom is that leaving employment and drawing from retirement savings could be a recipe to eventual and inevitable penury. But a recent study begs to differ.In “Spending in Retirement…or Not?” BlackRock Retirement Institute and the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) challenge...
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As we all emerge from our turkey-induced food coma, all eyes will now be on the U.S. Senate, as Congress returns this week from its Thanksgiving break to make the final push to approve tax reform by the end of the year.
To pick up where we left off, both the House and the Senate Finance Committee...
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With myriad rules to follow and deadlines to meet, it’s only natural that ongoing but occasional requirements may be a bit innocuous and easier to put at the bottom of the “to do” list — or leave off that list altogether. Required minimum distributions (RMDs) may be among those innocuous...
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Thanksgiving has been called a “uniquely American” holiday, and though that is perhaps something of an overstatement, it is unquestionably a special holiday, and one on which it seems appropriate to reflect on all for which we should be thankful.Here’s my list for 2017:I am thankful that — for the...
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On Capitol Hill on Nov. 16 both the House and Senate took major steps toward completing the much-anticipated tax reform overhaul.Following a mid-day pep talk by President Trump, the House on Nov. 16 approved the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) on a near-party line vote of 227-205. Thirteen...
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The IRS has updated its Listing of Required Modifications (LRM) and Information Package for defined contribution plans. It contains samples of plan provisions that satisfy certain Internal Revenue Code requirements and take into account changes in plan qualification requirements, regulations,...
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A weekend of lobbying on Capitol Hill has yielded some encouraging news on tax reform – but serious problems remain for retirement plans.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) has filed an amendment to strike the provision prohibiting catch-up contributions for business owners making more than $500,000, as well...
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All that’s left from the going-away party are a few crumbs on the conference table and an errant streamer still hanging insistently from the ceiling in a corner. The honoree has left the company, but she’s not forgotten, especially by the retirement plan administrator — she may be off payroll, but...
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All too often the innovations honored with a Nobel Prize fly under the radar of “regular” Americans. But that wasn’t the case recently when the work of University of Chicago’s Richard Thaler was acknowledged.Thaler was, of course, recognized by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, who said that...
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The Chairman’s Mark of the Senate tax reform proposal throws a few unexpected curves — bringing back problems for deferred compensation plans, introducing some new problems for 403(b) and 457 plans and capping catch-up contributions.Under the proposal unveiled on Nov. 9 by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT),...
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While tax reform is still very much a work in progress, there was a lot of good news for retirement plans and retirement savers yesterday. But there were also a couple of unwelcome surprises, particularly for 403(b) and 457(b) plans.
While there had been concerns that Rothification might surface...
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The U.S. Senate is expected to unveil its tax reform package today — could Rothification resurface?It seems (highly) unlikely, but a group of 15 Senate Democrats (and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats) has written to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking...
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A high 401(k) plan participation rate is a great thing. But it’s just the beginning. The next step — deciding how those funds will be invested — is critically important in realizing a plan participant’s ability to achieve the goal of a financially secure retirement.In “Key Ways to Help Your 401(k)...
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Stephen King’s It involves a certain malevolent spirit that rises up every generation, wreaks havoc and feeds on the unsuspecting, before going back into hibernation. Sound familiar?
A few weeks back, my wife and I went to see the updated version of It. Now, I’ve been a fan of King’s work ever...
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In a preemptive move against retirement provisions in the forthcoming House Republican tax reform plan, Senate Democratic leaders on Oct. 31 unveiled an alternative proposal that would increase 401(k) contribution limits.In a press conference with several other Democratic senators, Senate...
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How important is it to consistently participate in a 401(k) plan? According to new research from the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database, the average account balance among consistent participants at year-end 2015 was almost double the average account balance among all participants in the database.EBRI’s issue...
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The results of a new study make it clear that having access to a 401(k) plan is critical in helping workers get on a path to having a secure retirement.
Workers age 50 or older who have access to a 401(k) plan have saved six times more for retirement than those without access, according to...
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If last week’s volley between President Trump and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) over the potential Rothification of 401(k)s has you perplexed, rest assured, we should have some initial answers this week.Following final House passage of the FY 2018 budget resolution last...
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