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Despite political affiliation, large majorities of Americans believe the nation faces a retirement crisis and are largely supportive of state efforts to expand coverage, recent survey results show.
Findings contained in the National Institute on Retirement Security’s “Retirement Insecurity 2019:...
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is considering amendments to cybersecurity rules that could have an impact on retirement plan professionals.
The FTC voted 3-2 to propose amendments to the Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information, which became effective on 2003 and requires that financial...
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Single premium pension buyouts grew sharply from the third quarter of last year to the fourth, and from 2017 to 2018, according to a new report.
Buyouts grew by 68% from the third quarter to the fourth, rising from $6.2 billion to $10.4 billion, according to the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute....
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The fourth quarter 2018 market correction weighed on plan participants’ investment activity within self-directed brokerage accounts (SDBAs).
According to Charles Schwab’s SDBA Indicators Report, the average balance of the firm’s SDBAs fell to $246,153, a decline of 10.6% from the third quarter of...
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A new survey of nearly 4,000 401(k) plans sheds some light on current plan design trends in the small-plan market.
The survey of 3,975 small business 401(k) plans focused on common practices in two plan design areas: contributions and eligibility requirements. It was conducted by Employee...
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Pension funded status began and ended 2018 at roughly the same levels. That suggests stability, but analysts show that it was anything but in 2018.
A recent J.P. Morgan Asset Management report, “Corporate Pension Peer Analysis,” shows that among the largest corporate pensions, funded status on Dec...
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Private sector pension plan contributions were exceptionally high in 2017 and 2018, but may not remain so this year, say recent analyses.
The 20 largest corporate DB plans just had “two of the strongest years ever for pension contributions,” writes Russell Investments’ Director of Client Strategy...
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Following a slow start after 2018’s year-end market volatility, 401(k) investor trading activity again remained calm for February, reflecting a mostly positive performance for investors.
According to the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index, February included only three trading days of above-normal...
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Employees’ financial literacy — and its relevance to financial preparedness for retirement — is generating increasing concern and attention. But if it’s good to start saving young, why not foster financial literacy at a young age as well?
Some schools and programs are doing just that. And they’re...
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If you send the IRS a Voluntary Compliance Program (VCP) submission on paper on April 1, it will be returned to you. But it won’t be an April Fools Day joke.
Beginning April 1, 2019, the IRS will only accept VCP submissions that are made electronically through Pay.gov. It will return VCP...
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A new study answers the question, “What do workers do with their retirement savings after they leave their employers?” – and when?
To help plans better evaluate the distribution decisions people make when leaving employment, Alight Solutions takes a deep dive into the post-termination behavior of...
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There were three interesting reports published over the past week, which offered insights into ways to increase savings (or not), how to retain those accounts (or not), as well as an updated perspective on how all those comings and goings are adding up.
The first to grab my attention was the...
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A majority of physical workers are confident about retiring with a comfortable lifestyle, but few appear to be on track to meet their estimated retirement income needs, according to a new global research report.
Physical workers are more likely than non-physical workers to say they are very/...
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You know your clients – but how well do you know yourself?
As leaders and as women, we all strive to improve, and, like many of you, I have spent considerable time on self-awareness during my career in financial services. Along the way, I’ve been challenged to understand and define my leadership...
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The wild ride that financial investments have been on lately has become manifest in yet another way: the vagaries of pension plan funding levels. Two reports on funding ratios bear out the volatility.
Days shorten and light is in shorter supply (in the northern hemisphere, at least) as a year...
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Despite the 2018 market downturn, the projected retirement deficit for U.S. households has improved somewhat, though some remain at greater risk than others, according to new data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
“Retirement Savings Shortfalls: Evidence from EBRI’s 2019 Retirement...
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Nevada may be gambling with access to brokerage services for residents, based on the reactions of a number of brokerages to the Silver State’s proposed fiduciary regulation.
According to published reports, Morgan Stanley says it would halt its brokerage services in Nevada entirely if the state...
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The IRS has issued tables concerning covered compensation under Internal Revenue Code Section 401(l)(5)(E) and Treas. Reg. §1.401(l)-1. The data is contained in Revenue Ruling 2019-6.
These tables provide information on covered compensation based on calendar year of birth and Social Security...
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Baby boomers, a generation spanning the better part of two decades, has members who are retired, but plenty of members who are in the workforce and will be for years to come. And a recently released report on financial security and aging suggests that may be a good thing.
In “Seeing Our Way to...
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Some employers find that financial wellness programs have much to offer: informing and empowering employees to better prepare for their current and future financial security, as well as enhancing their relationship with their employees. And at a comparatively low cost, to boot. A recent article...
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