Ted Godbout

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... READ MORE

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/... READ MORE

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... READ MORE

Since enactment of the Pension Protection Act in 2006, automaticity has been highly successful in improving retirement readiness. But new, highly personalized fintech advances may help drive retirement readiness to the next level, according to a new white paper.  Building on the success of auto-... READ MORE

Picking up where they left off in the last Congress, Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and Tim Walberg (R-MI) have reintroduced legislation to make it easier for retirement plan sponsors to provide guaranteed lifetime income products as part of their DC plan.    In general, the Increasing Access... READ MORE

Regardless of political affiliation, large majorities of Americans believe the nation faces a retirement crisis and are largely supportive of state efforts to expand coverage, new survey results show. Findings contained in the National Institute on Retirement Security’s “Retirement Insecurity 2019... READ MORE

A new report by the Government Accountability Office calls on federal regulators to clarity the rules regarding the transfers of unclaimed savings from employer-based 401(k) plans to the states.  In “Federal Action Needed to Clarify Tax Treatment of Unclaimed 401(k) Plan Savings Transferred to... READ MORE

Two key members of Congress are interested in learning more about potential threats cyberattacks pose to the U.S. retirement system and what industry stakeholders are doing to address them. In a Feb. 12 letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking... READ MORE

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... READ MORE