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Technical Resources

You may have missed it, but there was a bit of a “twitter storm” regarding retirement recently.More specifically, a relatively innocuous post about how much a 30-year-old should have saved toward retirement got a lot of 35-year-olds stirred up. The CBSMarketwatch article quoted Fidelity as saying... READ MORE
“The dog ate my homework.” We all miss deadlines. But sometimes there are extenuating circumstances, as even the IRS recognizes — for instance, regarding required minimum distributions (RMDs).   In a recent PenChecks Trust blog entry, longtime ASPPA member Bill Grossman, Managing Member of WCG... READ MORE
Times have been good lately for investors, with proof not only in strong market returns but also solid investor returns, according to Morningstar’s 2018 “Mind the Gap” study.Among the key takeaways from this year’s report are that the gap improved for U.S. equity, balanced and municipal bond funds... READ MORE
In what looks to be a first in excessive fee litigation, a court has ordered plaintiffs to produce some Facebook posts.In this excessive fee suit, the plaintiffs charge — as others have in similar actions — that the fiduciaries of the $5.1 billion Anthem 401(k) Plan (formerly the WellPoint 401(k)... READ MORE
The Department of Labor (DOL) has unveiled the much-anticipated final version of a rule that allows more small businesses and self-employed workers to band together to buy health insurance — and may have dropped a small hint about retirement multiple employer plans (MEPs). The association health... READ MORE
Several weeks back, I was invited to participate in a group conversation on retirement and the future of prosperity. The group of 15 (they’re listed at the end of the document that summarized the conclusions) that Politico pulled together was diverse, both in background and philosophies, and... READ MORE
How does the best interest standard of care in the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest compare to the standard of care in the DOL’s Best Interest Contract Exemption (BICE)? Well, having previously outlined the similarities between those two, in his most recent blog post noted ERISA attorney Fred Reish... READ MORE
Employer-based retirement plans are the keystone of retirement preparedness. A recent Forbes column examines the centrality of employers’ role — and the areas where there are shortcomings.In “Should We Continue to Count on Employers for Retirement Provision?” Forbes contributor Elizabeth Bauer, FSA... READ MORE
A recent survey of DC plan sponsors and consultants finds that when selecting a target-date strategy or other QDIA, plan sponsors were most concerned about participants’ longevity risk and their ability to achieve higher retirement account balances over the long term.T. Rowe Price’s survey, “... READ MORE
Thinking outside the box is often a valued attribute; in the retirement plan universe, it can find expression in arrangements and plan features that offer flexibility, liquidity and portability. But a recently released paper suggests that it is important to be mindful of fiduciary duties while... READ MORE
There were mixed results for defined benefit and defined contribution plans in the first quarter of 2018, the Federal Reserve reports. In short: assets grew, but so did liabilities. Assets The Fed reports that assets for private DB and DC plans — showed mixed results since the 4th quarter of 2017... READ MORE
Guess how many CE credits you can get at the ASPPA Annual Conference.This year you can earn up to 25 ASPPA CE credits — with three ethics credits available — for the 2017–2018 CE cycle. Sessions offer up to two credit hours each.At “ASPPA Annual” — one of the retirement industry’s longest-running... READ MORE
Another provider has been sued by an employee-participant in its own 401(k) plan, not just for its inclusion of proprietary funds, but the type and number of options on its menu — and its target-date strategy.The suit, filed by participant-plaintiff Diego Cervantes in the U.S. District Court for... READ MORE
A new report forecasts how the innovations brought on by the Pension Protection Act will continue to evolve, foreseeing a DC industry that takes on some of the traditional features of the DB industry. In its 250th issue of The Cerulli Edge – U.S. Asset and Wealth Management Edition, Cerulli... READ MORE
Recently, the Wall Street Journal’s Anne Tergesen wrote a story titled, “Mixed Bag for Auto-enrollment.” Citing data presented at the recent EBRI Policy Forum,1 the article claimed that “employees who are automatically enrolled in their workplace savings plans save less than those who sign up on... READ MORE
The SEC’s proposed Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) is remarkable in its similarities to the DOL’s vacated Best Interest Contract Exemption (BICE) – or so Fred Reish thinks. With a beginning note of caution that Reg BI applies to securities recommendations, while the BICE would have (but for the... READ MORE
President Trump has nominated Senate Banking Committee aide Elad Roisman to serve as a Republican member of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).Roisman, who currently serves as Chief Counsel to the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee under Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID), would... READ MORE
The official hurricane season has just begun (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it starts June 1). But we’ve already had a tropical system hit the United States (Alberto) — and that serves as a reminder that it can be helpful to a service provider and plan administrator to... READ MORE
The victorious plaintiffs in litigation vacating the Labor Department's fiduciary rule would like the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to put the rule — and the financial services industry at large — out of its collective "misery."In a letter to the Clerk of Court for the U.S. Court of... READ MORE
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a proposal on June 4 that it says will improve the method for delivering fund shareholder reports to investors in mutual funds, ETFs and other investment funds.The SEC also announced that it is inviting comments on improving the fund disclosures... READ MORE

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