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Guaranteed Income
A new study finds that automatic enrollment not only triples the participation rate of new hires, but that over time the vast majority increase their deferral rates.
The report—“Automatic enrollment: The power of the default” by researchers at Vanguard, found that among new hires, participation...
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Single-employer defined benefit plan interest rate stabilization and funding relief included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) presents DB sponsors with a number of short-run decisions—some that must be made by March 31.
A recent article by OctoberThree highlights some of the issues...
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The ink on the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), signed on March 11, is barely dry—but its effects are, and will be, far-reaching. Two recent blog entries zero in on some of the ways it will affect private-sector defined benefit plans, including funding relief.
Discount Rates
Pre-ARPA,...
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Many proposals have been floated to address the long-term solvency of the Social Security system, among them raising the full retirement age (FRA) so that benefits are claimed later in life. But while that may help the system, Social Security recipients may not consider it as great a boon, says a...
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Retirees face a difficult job figuring out how to draw down their 401(k) and often claim Social Security the earliest they can, but a new white paper suggests that a “Social Security bridge” could be a helpful solution.
In “How Best to Annuitize Defined Contribution Assets?,” Alicia Munnell, Gal...
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Despite one of the most challenging periods in recent memory, a new study finds that DC plans continued to perform their critical role in preparing workers for retirement.
Throughout 2020, the majority of the more than 1.1 million participants in over 1,000 John Hancock open architecture DC...
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Proliferation of technological applications and the need to increase retirement plan participation and savings. Seems like a match made in heaven. A panel of experts recently discussed how that pairing is faring and how it can function better.
In “Better Technology, Better Retirement Savings:...
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There is strong support for all workers having access to a pension plan, a recent study has found.
Dan Doonan and Kelly Kenneally, who respectively serve as National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) Executive Director and communications counsel, report in the new NIRS issue brief on...
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Remember the required minimum distribution (RMD) rules and the recent changes that have been made to them, the IRS reminds. It issued the reminder in a March 16 news release that highlights those changes.
SECURE Act
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act changed...
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While there is a lot of discussion about how COVID-19 has affected retirement security, a new paper suggests that things could have been a lot worse.
COVID could have worsened the picture for 401(k) plans if financial markets had collapsed, the recession had led to widespread withdrawals, or...
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A recent paper was titled “COVID 19 Is Not a Retirement Story.” A week later, an article on Forbes.com said: “COVID-19 Is Most Certainly a Retirement Story.” So, which is it?
As it turns out, the former was authored by the folks at the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College—who...
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While it seems clear the pandemic has caused financial strain to many, a new study suggests there are signs of hope when it comes to retirement planning activity.
According to Allianz Life’s 2021 Retirement Risk Readiness Study, nearly half (49%) of respondents to the firm’s survey said they...
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A federal appellate court has ruled that Fidelity’s FundsNetwork supermarket is… a supermarket, and again rejected claims that Fidelity’s relationship with those fund companies made it a fiduciary.
The Gist
Ultimately, while the appellate court acknowledged that Fidelity does have some fiduciary...
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A recent industry trade article questions the efficacy of saving early for retirement—and notes that there “may even be such a thing as saving too much.”
What launches that premise is a research paper titled “Is Automatic Enrollment Consistent with a Life Cycle Model?” That turns out to be a...
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There is concern regarding the effect of the pandemic on retirement security, and yet some of the more dire expectations have not come to fruition. That was the message of co-authors of a recently released report on retirement security, who offered a closer look at their findings.
In a Feb. 25...
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The Saver’s Credit is available to eligible taxpayers who are saving for retirement through a qualified retirement plan at work or in an IRA, yet it seems that every year millions of Americans are missing out on it.
In fact, only 43% of U.S. workers say they are aware of the tax credit that may...
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Maybe much of the country was encased in snow, ice and a deep freeze this February—but the environment for pension plans was red hot, recent reports reveal.
“Pension finance enjoyed its best month in more than three years in February,” said actuarial firm October Three in its February 2021...
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Two Republican members of the House of Representatives have reintroduced legislation that pushes back on state and local efforts to impose harmful financial transaction taxes (FTTs) that would impact non-residents.
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), the ranking Republican member of the House Financial...
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CalSavers, the retirement plan the state of California provides for employees whose employers do not provide one, showed growth in many areas in February.
The CalSavers Retirement Savings Board reports that the number of funded saver accounts, total saver assets, employer registrations and the...
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Making good on a past promise, the newest member of the Senate Finance Committee has introduced legislation to impose a wealth tax on so-called “ultra-millionaires.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on March 1 introduced the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act to impose:
a 2% annual tax on the net worth of...
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