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The average lifespan now is much longer than it was for previous generations. That’s good news! But that half-full glass has effects beyond the obvious. Among them: posing challenges and complications for retirement accounts and planning, which a recent analysis examines.
In “How Life Expectancy...
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“Fiduciaries that manage employer-sponsored benefits plans will likely get sued no matter what they do.” Thus begins a request from a number of retirement industry groups – including the American Retirement Association – that the U.S. Supreme Court weigh in on a controversial fiduciary case.
Said...
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Offering good news to couples on the eve of Valentine’s Day, a national survey finds that married or cohabiting retirees apparently have more financial resources to draw from and have fewer financial planning regrets, compared to their single counterparts.
Those who are married or cohabiting are...
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Retirement readiness remains a significant issue, but making a few small, smart investments like taking advantage of an employer 401(k) match can have a major impact over time, according to BlackRock’s 6th Annual Global Investor Pulse Survey.
In this year’s study, which spanned 27,000 people in 13...
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Markets moved higher heading into the New Year, but participant transfers slipped to a historic low.
According to the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index, January’s three “above-normal” trading days and one day of low trading activity marked the slowest start to the year in the more than 20-year history...
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In observance of Presidents Day on Monday, Feb. 18, the ASPPA offices will be closed. Accordingly, ASPPA Connect will not be published on Feb. 18. ASPPA Connect will reappear on Wednesday, Feb. 20.
Everyone is familiar with the pantheon of U.S. presidents, but there is more to them than that they...
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In his First Quarter 2019 Washington Update, Robert Kaplan, the American Retirement Association’s Director of Technical Education, provided an overview of the new climate on Capitol Hill as well as recent regulatory developments affecting retirement plans.
On the Hill
With the changes that took...
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Retirees’ concerns about not having enough money to last through retirement may not be as grim as they had feared before retiring, according to a new study.
In fact, more than two-thirds of retirees say they live as well or better in retirement as they did when they were working, according to the...
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Consumers tend to worry about “high-touch” products, such as credit cards and bank accounts, more than they worry about long-term savings accounts, such as their workplace retirement plans and IRAs, a new study warns.
Nearly 80% of American consumers are concerned about financial fraud, according...
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The IRS has issued a new version of Publication 575, “Pension and Annuity Income” for use in 2018 reporting.
Publication 575 discusses the tax treatment of distributions received from pension and annuity plans and also shows how to report the income on a federal income tax return. How these...
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The IRS has updated the content in its 401(k) Plan Fix-It Guide that addresses what to do when hardship distributions were not made properly.
The IRS makes recommendations regarding how to find and correct a mistake in providing hardship distributions.
How to Find the Mistake
Review your plan...
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The 100 largest corporate pension plans’ funded status improved in the first month of 2019, Milliman reports.
In a recent analysis, Milliman says that its Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index shows that the funding of the 100 largest corporate pension plans improved by $19 billion in January. That...
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The IRS has issued a new version of Publication 560, “Retirement Plans for Small Business (SEP, SIMPLE, and Qualified Plans)" for use in 2018 reporting.
In addition to information about filing, Publication 560 contains information on the following:
what type of plan to set up;
how to set up a...
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Fee litigation trends and disclosure requirements have compelled plan sponsors to focus on how recordkeeping fees are allocated to participants, but beyond ERISA’s general fiduciary requirements, there is limited legal guidance, explains a new white paper.
Under the Department of Labor’s fee...
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The 2019 Eastern Regional Conference will be held at the Doubletree Center City Hotel in Philadelphia on Thursday, May 9 and Friday, May 10. One of only two live regional conferences to be sponsored by ASPPA in 2019, the Eastern Regional Conference has been designed to educate retirement plan...
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Having a retirement plan and a commitment to facilitating employees’ saving for their retirement is important. But the good that accomplishes can be blunted if the employer and the plan administrators don’t communicate about the plan effectively.
In “Effectively Communicating Your Retirement Plan...
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It is customary when sharing (or reading) the portents of a survey to focus on the actions that respondents say they have, or will undertake. But what about the things they say they will not do?
Human beings gravitate toward “norms,” of course. Plan sponsors, certainly those conscious of the...
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Clients’ expectations have changed. And that is in part explained, and fueled by, technology. In a Jan. 29 session of the NTSA 30th Anniversary Summit in Tampa, FL, Lincoln Investment Vice President of Branch Development Tom Lakatos offered his insights on this development.
Lakatos was definitive...
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Another state has moved to impose its own fiduciary standard with no ERISA exemption.
The Maryland legislature aims to implement a state level fiduciary standard through a comprehensive consumer protection bill introduced this week by State Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Prince George’s).
The bill grants...
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Health savings accounts (HSAs) have become a significant and growing part of American workers’ benefit programs, and, increasingly a significant component of their retirement savings strategy.
To better understand how these programs are designed and administered, the Plan Sponsor Council of...
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