Retirement

Help Gen X employees close retirement wealth gap

01/02/2024

Many of your Generation X employees may be woefully unprepared to retire comfortably, according to an annual survey of 2,000 investors by the Schroders financial services firm. The Schroders 2023 U.S. Retirement Survey found that Gen Xers, currently ages 43 to 58, have the largest wealth gap of any generation.

Defined-benefit plans make a modest comeback

12/19/2023

Since defined-contribution retirement accounts like 401(k) plans were created in 1978, they have become by far the most common kinds of employer-sponsored retirement benefits, almost completely replacing traditional defined-benefit pensions.

Lawsuits question use of 401(k) plan forfeitures

11/21/2023

Earlier this year, the IRS issued proposed regulations giving 401(k) plan administrators discretion to determine how the plan uses forfeited contributions. The regs didn’t go out on a limb; plan administrators have been using this discretion for years. But maybe not for much longer, if plaintiffs in two lawsuits have their way.

Online hearing on Labor Department’s fiduciary rule scheduled for mid-December

11/20/2023

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration will hold an online hearing Dec. 12 and 13 on a proposed rule that would require financial advisors working on retirement-plan accounts to act in the best interests of investors, not the companies that create investment products.

Inflation worries reshaping employees’ retirement expectations, savings behavior

11/06/2023

Following a second straight year of above‐average inflation, and after last year’s volatile markets, workers’ perceptions of what retirement will look like have also begun to shift, further complicating the retirement outlook.

DOL proposed rule requires retirement plan advice ‘in investor’s best interest’

10/31/2023

The Biden administration on Oct. 31 proposed requiring financial advisors working on retirement-plan accounts to act in the best interests of investors, not the companies that create investment products. The core of the new rule—issued by the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration—is an updated definition of investment advice fiduciary. EBSA will enforce the rule if it becomes final, probably in 2024.

401(k) plans will open to more long-term part-timers

10/25/2023

Both SECURE 1.0 and SECURE 2.0 revise the conditions under which long-term part-time employees must be allowed to participate in your 401(k) plan. SECURE 1.0’s amendments are effective with the 2024 plan year, which means these employees will soon be eligible to participate in your plan. You need to count these employees’ service hours and reach out to them now.

Don’t want a 401(k) plan? Beware state auto-enrollment laws

10/04/2023

If you don’t offer a 401(k) plan now, SECURE 2.0’s requirements may be enough to dissuade you from ever offering one. But this doesn’t mean you’re totally off the hook.

Millennials and Gen Z: Lower the retirement age!

09/18/2023

More than half of millennial and Gen Z workers surveyed—51%—want to lower the full retirement age.

Retirement plan fiduciaries to pay more than $124 million for mismanaging profit sharing

07/24/2023

Fiduciaries of a retirement plan sponsored by an IT outsourcing firm—including the plan’s investment advisors—will pay more than $124.6 million to resolve violations of federal law related to their failure to properly manage the profit-sharing portion of the plan.