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Retirement Income
Stock drop lawsuits are generally about employer stock that has suffered a precipitous drop in value, and in rare cases, where participants have been deprived from keeping that investment — and then there’s this one.As noted above, these type of employer stock-based lawsuits are often over stock...
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New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer has unveiled a new city-run retirement plan for private-sector workers — including a city-sponsored multiple employer plan (MEP).The underlying rationale for the program? Nearly 60% of private sector workers in New York City lack access to retirement...
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There was some good news for U.S. corporate pension plans in a recent report about their overall funded ratio. Wilshire Consulting, Inc. says that in September, the aggregate private-sector pension plan funded ratio rose by almost one percentage point.The aggregate funded ratio in September was 76....
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In the second of a series of articles that features the insights of American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Resident Scholar Andrew Biggs in light of AEI’s recent paper, “Increasing the Effectiveness and Sustainability of the Nation’s Entitlement Programs,” Biggs shares his views on how demographics...
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Labor force participation rates among college-educated women grew in the first decade of the 21st Century. But not among the population one would expect: That result was among 60-to-64-year-olds. A recent study looks at that finding as well as how pensions help explain it.In “Teaching, Teachers...
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Happy workers appear to be healthier financially — or is it the other way around?State Street Global Advisors’ latest research suggests that there is a noteworthy interplay between people’s happiness with their working life and their financial well-being — including financial readiness for...
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The Fall 2016 issue of Plan Consultant is now online. The issue focuses on the most important matters facing the industry, including the DOL’s fiduciary rule, legislation that would eliminate obstacles to MEPs, and the new overtime rules, as well as expert perspectives on best practices. And you’ll...
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September has long been known as the worst month for U.S. stock performance (despite several well-chronicled October declines). How did average 401(k) balances fare this year?Well, as it turns out, the average account balance for younger (25-34), less tenured (1-4 years) workers actually rose 2% in...
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The way we approach entitlements — particularly Social Security — could be improved. There may be accord on that, but how to go about it is more of a cacophony. Such reform would have many ramifications — and retirement policy is one of the many shores that would be washed by the ripple of waves it...
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Delegates to the recent NAPA DC Fly-In Forum were treated to a discussion about a proposal touted as “rescuing retirement.” But the math (still) doesn’t seem to work. And it’s likely to kill the 401(k) (or at least its tax benefits). Here’s how.The proposal itself isn’t new — it’s the Guaranteed...
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Another state-run retirement program for the private sector is now on the books.California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on Sept. 29 signed into law legislation that will implement the California Secure Choice Retirement Plan. Brown hailed the effort — four years in the making — as helping millions of...
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Defined benefit plans can play a key role in providing financial stability in retirement, but their effects may not be widespread, according to a recent study.In “It’s All About Income,” the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) studied 806 Americans age 65-80 who retired at least five years before...
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Two bills that would facilitate reform of New Jersey’s public pension plans are now before the state Senate. Senate Bill 2555 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 123 have been filed in the chamber by Sens. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Red Bank) and Steven Oroho (R-Sparta).SB 2555 would create a task force to...
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The legislative package that cleared the Senate Finance Committee unanimously in late September included provisions intended to encourage the use of lifetime income products, including a late addition that could turn out to be the most significant.Lifetime Income Selection Safe HarborThat provision...
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On Sept. 27, 2016, the American Retirement Association Government Affairs Committee (ARA GAC) filed a comment letter in response to a proposed regulation promulgated by the Department of Labor that would expand the non-ERISA safe harbor to payroll deduction savings arrangements mandated by the laws...
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It’s not hard to find scary headlines about 401(k)s — seems as though every week you read how people aren’t saving enough, are worried that they aren’t saving enough, aren’t saving enough and aren’t worried that they aren’t saving enough… Then in the past couple of weeks, a new twist.First a...
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In most professional sports, the clock — the time remaining in the contest — is a factor (baseball being a notable exception — those nine innings are going to be played, regardless of how long it takes).The clock can be your enemy if you’re trying to hang on to a slender lead — or it can be your...
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We hear a lot about the crushing load of student debt many Millennials carry these days — but is it having an impact on retirement plan participation?Not much, according to “How Does Student Debt Affect Early-Career Retirement Saving?” by reseachers Matthew S. Rutledge, Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher,...
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The Department of Labor (DOL) on Sept. 22 announced that it has awarded more than $150,000 in research grants to expand portable retirement savings plans for low-wage workers. The DOL had announced the program in the summer and accepted applications through Aug. 26.The DOL’s Women’s Bureau has...
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The Senate Finance Committee has cleared two pieces of retirement legislation that are now pending before the full Senate, including one that includes a new brand of multiple employer plan (MEP) for the private sector.Meet the PEP — and the PPPOne of the bills, the Retirement Enhancement and...
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