Retirement Income

Several factors are placing pressures on the U.S. retirement system, leaving the industry facing a decelerating revenue growth outlook, but a new report suggests there are “opportunities hiding in plain sight.”  Rising industry-wide fee pressure is one area placing constraints on the profitability... READ MORE

Teresa Ghilarducci has both a “new” proposal and a new collaborator and—I hope you’re sitting down—I actually agree with her.  Well, partly anyway.[1] Her new proposal is—as a recent op-ed in the Washington Post puts it—“Everyone should have the retirement plan federal employees enjoy.”... READ MORE

With employee turnover climbing for small businesses, more employers are taking steps to boost retention and see employee benefits as a key to their success, according to new survey results.  Looking back one year after the start of COVID-19, business owners are reflecting on the biggest... READ MORE

One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans report that they are still struggling to save, but a solid majority say they are optimistic about their current financial future.  According to MassMutual’s Consumer Spending & Saving Index, nearly half of survey respondents (49%) say they... READ MORE

Institutions of higher learning face many challenges—among them the impact of the pandemic—in helping employees to prepare financially for retirement. A recent white paper looks at what those schools are doing.  In “Lessons Learned on the Management of Higher Education Retirement Plans in... READ MORE

Is the concept of “retirement” no longer relevant? For starters, there are any number of consumer surveys that suggest that a growing number of American workers—of all ages—no longer expect to retire—or expect to do so at ages well beyond what is likely to be available to them.  Moreover, there... READ MORE

The IRS on March 29 in Notice 2021-21 announced that it is delaying the deadline by which 2020 contributions to IRAs and Roth IRAs must be made until May 17, 2021.  The IRS took the action in light of the March 13, 2020 emergency declaration issued by President Trump that said the COVID-19... READ MORE

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... READ MORE

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,... READ MORE